OECD Sees Continued Decline In Global Economy

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a consortium of 34 nations worldwide, has warned that the U.S. and other large economies are poised to experience slowdowns this year.

The OECD indicators are based on data that can provide signs of economic acceleration and slowdown. This recent round of indicators — based on data from November — shows that while U.S. data continues to show strong growth, there will probably be some cooling off this year. In fact, the U.S. indicator fell for the third straight month to 99.6, below the 100 mark that indicates steady growth.

“In the United States and Germany, the tentative signs of easing growth momentum that were flagged in last month’s assessment have been confirmed,” the OECD said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The news comes after a recent report noted that entrepreneurs in the U.S. are less optimistic about the national economy, with economic outlook dropping for the fourth month in a row, according to data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The NFIB’s optimism index fell to 104.4 last month, its lowest level since late 2016.

In contrast, China’s indicator rose a bit to 98.8, which could be a sign that the nation’s slowdown is ending. However, the indicator for the Eurozone was below 100 for the fourth straight month, which means the slowdown in that region that began last year is likely to keep going.

In addition, there was a sharp decrease in Chinese exports during December, and the largest fall in Eurozone industrial production during November since 2012, when the region’s economy was stuck in a long recession.

“The drop in industrial production in many countries in November is another sign that the global economy is starting to weaken,” said Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics. “Although the figures can be volatile, other evidence points to further weakness in the industrial sector ahead.”