Leading indicators point to looming slowdown in major economies

The latest leading indicators continue to signal slowing growth in most of the major economies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says.

The Paris-based group reported that its composite leading indicators (CLIs), which aim to anticipate shifts in economic momentum by tracking a series of forward-looking metrics such as manufacturing orders, building permits and confidence indexes, point to a weak outlook in the OECD area and in most of the major economies.

Specifically, the latest leading indicator readings signal slowing growth in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., it noted.

The Euro area overall, including Germany, France and Italy, are all facing slower growth too, it said.

“As in the last few months, these developments can be primarily attributed to high inflation and increasing interest rates,” the OECD said.

Japan remains an outlier, with leading indicators there pointing to stable growth.

Mixed signals are coming from the major emerging market economies, the OECD said.

Growth trends are stabilizing in China, and in India and Brazil, indicators suggest that growth is losing momentum, it said.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.