A fresh batch of economic indicators published today offer further evidence that the global economy is heading towards recovery.
OECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) for August 2009 highlight a recovery in all major economies with CLIs for France and Italy pointing to a potential expansion.
However the OECD warned that the expansion signals should be interpreted with some care as CLIs are less precise in differentiating between expansion and recovery than in identifying turning points.
The CLI for the OECD area increased by 1.5 point in August and was 0.6 point higher than in the same month a year earlier.
The Euro area’s CLI increased by 1.7 point in August, 4.1 points higher than a year ago. The CLI for Japan increased by 1.3 point in August, and was 3.9 points lower than the same period in 2008.
In the US the CLI rose by 1.6 point in August, and was 1.6 point lower than for the same month a year ago.
The CLI for the UK increased by 1.6 point during August and was up 1.7 points in Canada.
In France the indicators rose by 6.6 points over the year while in Italy, the CLI was 10.4 points higher.
The CLI's for China, India, and Russia all increased over the month but were unchanged compared to the same period a year earlier. However, In Brazil, the CLI declined by 8.5 points over the year.
Elsewhere, French industrial output rose more than expected in August, rising 1.8 per cent from the previous month on the back of a surge in car production, according to new data.
There was a 5.6 per cent rise in production of metal goods and a 2.7 per cent rise in manufacture of rubber, plastics and other non-metals goods but a 4.2 per cent decline in textiles and clothing manufacturing and a 2.1 per cent drop in chemicals.
New data also shows that Germany's trade surplus narrowed unexpectedly in August as exports fell for the first time in four months.
Adjusted for seasonal swings, exports fell 1.8 per cent month-on-month to €67 billion, while imports rose by 1.1 per cent to reach €56.4 billion, figures from the Federal Statistics Office figures showed today.
Additional reporting: Reuters
