(04 December 2017) – OECD sees global economy strengthening, but says further policy action needed to catalyse the private sector for stronger and more inclusive growth.
The world economy has strengthened, with monetary and fiscal stimulus underpinning a broad-based and synchronised improvement in growth rates across most countries, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.
The euro area is projected to grow at a 2.4 percent rate in 2017 and a 2.1 percent pace in 2018 – upward revisions from previous projections driven by stronger growth in key European countries – before slowing to a 1.9 percent pace in 2019.
Germany is forecast to grow by 2.5 percent in 2017, 2.3 percent in 2018, and 1.9 percent in 2019. France is projected to grow by 1.8 percent over the 2017-18 period and 1.7 percent in 2019, while Italy will see a 1.6 percent growth rate this year, a 1.5 percent rate in 2018 and a 1.3 percent rate in 2019.
In the United Kingdom, the growth slowdown is expected to continue through 2018, due to continuing uncertainty over the outcome of negotiations around the decision to leave the European Union and the impact of higher inflation on household purchasing power. In this context, the UK is projected to grow by 1.5 percent this year, 1.2 percent in 2018 and 1.1 percent in 2019.