OECD says eurozone economy accelerating, wider picture stable

[PARIS] Economic growth is accelerating in the eurozone and in India but slowing in China, Russia and Brazil, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Thursday.

In a monthly update, the OECD said that within the eurozone, France and Italy were showing signs of better growth and that the outlook was also improving in Germany, the eurozone's largest economy.

The international think tank's leading indicator, a measure supposed to capture turning points in the economy, rose to 100.7 for the eurozone as a whole, from 100.6 a month earlier.

With 100.0 representing a long-term average, the OECD index rose to 100.7 from 100.5 in France, the second-largest eurozone economy, and increased to 101.0 from 100.8 in Italy, the third-largest. In Germany, it rose to 99.8 from 99.7.

India's prospects continued to improve, with an index that rose to 99.5 from 99.3 in the latest monthly report. But China's reading dipped to 98.4 from 98.5 and Russia's to 98.9 from 99.0.

The US index dipped to 100.0 from 100.1. Japan's rose to 100.0 from 99.9.

REUTERS