OECD: U.S., UK to see stable growth momentum

According to composite leading indicators from the Paris-based research organization, the U.S. and the UK are expected to see slower but stable growth over the next six to nine months.    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released new data last week indicating economic growth in the U.S. and United Kingdom will stabilize over the next six to nine months.
    According to the organization’s composite leading indicators (CLIs) for March, the OECD area as a whole will experience stable growth momentum going forward, as the CLI index for its 34 members was steady at 100.1. A reading below 100.0 indicates growth that is slower than normal.   
   Current data for Germany and Canada indicates they will experience growth gaining momentum, as was the case in February, when the CLI pointed to the accelerating growth in the U.S. and tentative signs of growth in the United Kingdom due to Brexit uncertainty.
   However, that prediction has been tempered with the current CLIs for the U.S., Japan, United Kingdom and the euro area as a whole showing only stable growth momentum for the next six to nine months.
   For major emerging economies, the current CLIs indicate growth gaining momentum in Brazil and Russia with stable growth momentum in China and India. 
   The CLIs used by OECD are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend six to nine months ahead. They are composite indicators with components that “measure early stages of production, respond rapidly to changes in economic activity, are sensitive to expectations of future activity or are control variables that measure policy stance,” according to the OECD.