Major seven OECD economies saw deep slowdown in Feb

ris April 10, 2009, 19:35 IST

Major seven economies in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had to face a deep slowdown in February, according to a parameter formulated by the organisation.

The Composite Leading Indicator (CLI) -- designed by OECD to provide early signals of turning points (peaks and troughs) between expansions and slowdowns of economic activity -- for February 2009 continues to point to a deep slowdown for all the major seven economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"Although some tentative signs of improvement in the rate of deterioration in the outlook are appearing in some countries, noticeably Italy, France and in some of the smaller OECD countries, the emphasis on tentative cannot be overstated," OECD report released today said.

The picture for all countries remains weak, with the outlook in the United States, Canada, Japan and major non-OECD member economies, in particular, further deteriorating since last month.

CLI for the OECD area is showing a slowdown and has decreased by 0.6 point in February 2009 and was 9.7 points lower compared to February 2008.