India 'only major economy' to see improved momentum, says OECD

Most of the other major economies are expected to witness stable growth momentum, says the think-tank

India is the “only major economy” that is projected to see a pick-up in growth momentum whereas mixed trends are predicted for the developed world, Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) said on Wednesday. Most of the major economies — developed and developing — including the United States, Brazil, China and Russia, are expected to witness stable growth momentum.

OECD said indicators point to weak growth in Europe.

The readings, for September, are based on Composite Leading Indicators (CLI) that are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend.

“India is the only major economy where the CLI points to a pick-up in growth momentum,” OECD stated.

In September, CLI for India touched 99.1, the highest since May this year when it stood at 98.6. In August, the it was at 99.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank projected 5.6 per cent growth rate for India this year, citing renewed confidence in the market due to a series of economic reforms pursued by the new government.

India's economic growth was below 5 per cent in the last two financial years. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forecast Indian economy to grow at 5.5 per cent in 2014-15 and at 6.3 per cent in next financial year 2015-16.

During the April-August period of 2014-15, industrial output growth as measured by Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was at 2.8 per cent, as against flat production in same period of the previous fiscal.

Earlier this week, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha expressed confidence that the country's GDP growth would cross 6 per cent in the next financial year (2015-16).

OECD said that CLI points to growth losing traction in Japan even though such a trend may be related to one-off factors.

"Within the Euro area, the CLI continues to point to a loss of growth momentum, with stronger signals of a slowdown in the case of Germany and Italy.

"In France, however, the outlook continues to suggest stable growth momentum," it said.