Macroeconomic conditions
According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global economy only managed muted growth over the reporting period. Adjusted for inflation, the OECD countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter and by 1.0 per cent in the second quarter. This slight uptrend continued through the summer. Economic conditions improved somewhat in the European Union. The economy contracted by 0.8 per cent in the first three months, followed by close to zero growth (contraction of 0.2 per cent) in the second quarter. This trend was driven primarily by Germany, France and the United Kingdom. However, the negative growth rates in Italy and Spain, two major European economies, show that the eurozone has not yet overcome the crisis. This is also hampering growth in other European countries, including Russia.
Among the emerging markets, China’s growth rates were almost as high as in the previous year, whereas other Asian markets experienced a decline. Brazil’s upward trend continued, although the pace of economic growth tailed off and there were considerable exchange-rate fluctuations. Although growth rates have slowed down in many emerging markets, they will continue to be significant in driving global economic expansion in the medium term.
Besides GDP growth, global demand for machinery and equipment is largely driven by investment confidence and world trade volumes. Over the course of the year, however, worldwide spending on capital equipment has increased only cautiously as ongoing uncertainty about growth prospects has continued to dampen companies’ willingness to invest, particularly in the eurozone. Economic research institutes estimate that global trade in 2013 as a whole will once again be well behind the medium-term trend.