a number of larger, developing economies that include china and india are set for a period of faster growth, according to leading indicators released wednesday by the organization for economic cooperation and development. the paris-based research body said its leading indicators also point to steady growth ahead for developed economies, including the u.s., the eurozone and japan. overall, they suggest global economic growth may be set to pick up in the early months of 2017. the indicators are based on a wide set of data points that have a record of anticipating future changes in economic activity, and were available in september. in addition to the two asian giants, the leading indicators also point to recoveries in brazil and russia, both of which have experienced sharp declines in economic output over recent years that were linked in part to falling commodity prices. to be sure, 2016 is set to mark another year of disappointing growth for the global economy, with 2017 forecast to be only a little better. in the third quarter, economic growth picked up in the u.s., but was stable in china and the eurozone. the outlook for the global economy may have been altered by the election of donald trump as u.s. president. during his campaign, mr. trump pledged to introduce new, higher tariffs on imports from china and mexico, and reassess other trade relationships that he said placed u.s. workers at a disadvantage. <u+201c>a less open u.s. trade regime could potentially harm the u.s. economy and damage export and gdp growth in its trading partners, particularly mexico and china,<u+201d> economists at hsbc said in a note to clients. <u+201c>depending on the specific measures, retaliatory action from elsewhere could be expected while the risk of trade and currency wars could grow.<u+201d> the oecd<u+2019>s leading indicators are designed to provide early signals of turning points between the acceleration and slowing of economic activity. the changes in economic activity signaled by the indicators usually follow six to nine months after they are recorded. the oecd<u+2019>s composite leading indicator for its 34 members was steady at 99.7 in september. a reading below 100.0 points to growth that is slower than normal. write to paul hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com
oecd indicators signal pickup in developing economies - wsj
paul hannon