Economic expansion in the Group of Seven leading industrial nations is set to moderate despite slight improvements in figures from the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy, an OECD report showed on Thursday.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said its composite leading indicator (CLI) for the G7 area rose to 105.4 in March from 105.2 the month before. A less volatile measure, the six-month rate of expansion, also rose for the G7 in March, to 0.5 from 0.2 in February.
But there were signals of slowing expansion in most of the industrial heavyweights.
"Although March 2007 data show slightly improved performance in the CLI's six month rate of change in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy, a downward trend is still apparent in most of the major seven economies," the OECD said. "In March 2007, the CLI for Japan fell by 0.8 point. Its six-month rate of change has trended downwards since March 2006."
The composite leading indicator for Japan fell to 99.8 from 100.6 in February. The figure for the 30-nation OECD area came in at 109.9 in March, up slightly from February's 109.7. The survey also pointed to accelerating expansion in China, steady expansion in India and Brazil, but a weakening outlook for Russia.