By John S. McClenahen The global economy will remain sluggish during the first half of 2003 as excess capacity, high personal debt levels, weak confidence and high oil prices dampen private-sector demand, says the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a ...
ByJohn S. McClenahen The global economy will remain sluggish during the first half of 2003 as excess capacity, high personal debt levels, weak confidence and high oil prices dampen private-sector demand, says the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a business unit of the London-based Economist group. A result will be average GDP growth of 3.1% for 2003, down a tenth of a percentage point from EIU's mid-January forecast of 3.2%. Unlike many other forecasts, EIU figures GDP on a so-called purchasing-power-parity basis, which takes into account differences in currency exchange rates. "But a return to a more normal rate of growth in most major markets by late 2003 or early 2004 suggests that world GDP will average a far healthier 3.8% in 2004," EIU relates.
