The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) composite leading indicator (CLI) for August shows that most major world economies will continue to see weakening growth in coming quarters, according to OECD data that was included in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).
The economies of the U.S. and Japan will likely see moderating growth, while those of Canada, Germany, France, Italy and other areas of Europe will see weak growth, as will those of India and Russia. CLIs for the U.K. and Brazil, however “continue to point to a pick-up in growth,” the ACC report says.
“In China, the CLI points to soft growth, but tentative signs are emerging that the recent deterioration in the short-term outlook may have stabilized,” the ACC report comments.
In the U.S., wholesale trade in chemicals fell 2.0% to $9.95 billion in August, following a 0.2% decline in July. However, inventories are balanced, which is good, the ACC report remarked
The S&P index for chemicals rose by 1.9% in September, compared to a 2.4% gain in the wider S&P 500 index. Since the beginning of the year, the S&P chemicals index is up 15.9%, while the S&P 500 is up 14.6%, says the ACC report.