OECD indicator firms for euro zone, slips for US and UK

PARIS: Economic growth is showing further signs of firming in France, Italy and the euro zone overall, while growth looks to be easing to around long-term trends in the United States and UK, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. Trends are pointing more strongly to a loss in growth momentum in Brazil and China, meanwhile, according to the OECD's monthly leading indicator, a measure designed to flag turning points in the international economy.

Stable growth momentum is expected in Germany, Japan and India, while indications for Russia also point to stable growth momentum although below the long-term trend, the OECD said on Monday. The indicator, a synthetic index where 100 is the long-term average, remained at 100.7 in the euro zone for the fourth consecutive month in June but continued to ease to 99.4 in the U.S. from May's 99.5, having fallen below 100 in February. Britain's reading slipped to 99.8 in June, having dipped below 100 to 99.9 in May. The index rose month-on-month to 100.8 from 100.7 in France and was stable at 100.9 in Italy. China's indicator continued its steady decline to 97.4 in June from 97.5 in May. Brazil slipped to 98.8 from 99.0. The reading for Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, was stable at 100.0.