Strong signs of slowdown in India, China: OECD

LONDON: India, China and most of the developed world, including the US, are witnessing strong signs of economic slowdown, according to a Paris-based think-tank OECD.

The assessment is based on Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs), that provide early signals of turning points in economic activities of a country.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today said that CLIs for the month of July indicate a "slowdown in economic activity in most OECD countries and major non-member economies".

"Compared to the last month's assessment, the CLIs for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China and India are pointing more strongly to a slowdown in economic activity," it noted.

In July, India's CLI stood at 95.7, lower than 96.5 recorded in June. CLI has been on marginal decline since November last year.

India's economy recorded 7.7 per cent growth in the first three months of the current fiscal against 8.8 per cent in the same period a year-ago.

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council ( PMEAC) has projected the Indian economy to expand 8.2 per cent in the current fiscal.

"The projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent, though lower than the previous year, must be treated as high and respectable given the current world situation," PMEAC had said in August.

India had clocked a GDP growth of 8.5 per cent in the last fiscal ended March 31, 2011.

A grouping of mostly industrialised economies, OECD said that the US and Russia are also witnessing economic slowdown.

OECD members, that includes the US, Germany and France, account for over 60 per cent of global output.

Persisting European debt turmoil as well as rising concerns about the financial health of the US has hurt global financial markets in recent weeks.