There are signs of slowing economic growth across much of the globe, even while China appears to be stabilizing, according to leading indicators released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan could likely experience slowing growth, and similar signs are also emerging in Germany, the Paris-based OECD said. Meanwhile, Italy and the Euro area as a whole show stable growth, France and India are now stabilizing, and China is showing “tentative signs” of stabilization. However, for Russia and Brazil the indicators point to a loss in growth momentum.
The OECD’s indicators are designed to provide early signals of turning points in business cycles.
While the OECD’s indicators point to probable economic conditions six to nine months out, countries are already tweaking policies to respond to weakened growth prospects, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Bank of Japan has set a key short-term interest rate below zero, Sweden’s Riksbank has lowered its key interest rate further into negative territory, and the European Central Bank is expected to ease monetary policy further when its policy makers meet Thursday.
“But there are growing worries that central banks alone can do little to halt the global economy’s slide into weaker growth,” the WSJ wrote. “In advance of a meeting of finance officials from the Group of 20 largest economies in Shanghai in late February, both the International Monetary Fund and the OECD called for a fresh approach to stimulus that relies more on a coordinated increase in investment spending and economic overhauls by governments.”