9 January 2004, 15:07  OECD indicator sees better US, Eurozone prospects

PARIS, Jan 9 - U.S. economic prospects brightened markedly in a forward-looking indicator published by the OECD on Friday, with an improvement too in recovery signals for the euro zone and its two leading economies, France and Germany. The figures came as welcome reassurance that the omens were good for the global economy after a clutch of figures earlier in the week suggested that the pace of recovery was slowing. "Moderate to strong recovery lies ahead for the OECD area," the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a statement. "November data signalled strong improvement in the United States and better performance in the euro area, in particular for Germany and France," the Paris-based think-tank added. For the 30-country membership of the OECD, the November leading indicator rose to 123.1 from 122.3. The reading for the United States rose 1.8 points to 132.3. It rose 0.7 in the euro zone to 124.2, and was up 1.1 points to 121.8 for France and 1.4 points to 128.4 for Germany, but dipped 0.8 points to 107.1 in Italy. For Japan, there was also a
Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England held their interest rates steady on Thursday but the ECB is under pressure to bring down rates again to insulate the fragile eurozone recovery against the impact of the soaring euro. In Britain by contrast growth is much better established and speculation is building for a further rise in official rates next month. SIGNS OF HICCUP Signs mounted earlier this week that the economic revival had suffered a hiccup. The huge U.S. services sector grew for the ninth month in a row in December, but at a much slower pace than expected and data for November showed the largest drop in new orders for U.S. factory goods in over six months. In Europe, expansion in the key services sector moderated last month in both the euro zone and Britain, euro zone economic sentiment witnessed a slight setback and French consumer morale failed to improve. Dealers were now keenly awaiting crucial U.S. jobs data for December due at 1330 GMT for confirmation the U.S. economy was still pulling ahead, galvanising the rest of the world economy. Economists polled by put the median forecast at 130,000 new jobs for December non-farm payrolls, but dealers are looking for a bigger rise. The OECD indicator was sanguine on the outlook for the G7 group of economic powers -- United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy. The reading rose 0.8 points to 120.9, while for the 15-nation European Union the index rose 0.6 points to 122.2.//

© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved