OECD cuts growth forecasts as US industrial production falls, BIS sees asset prices as elevated

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lowered its growth forecasts for the major economies on Monday.

The eurozone economy is now expected to grow 0.8 percent this year, down from 1.2 percent in May, while the US economy is expected to grow 2.1 percent instead of 2.6 percent.

The OECD expects these economies to accelerate in 2015, with the eurozone economy expanding 1.1 percent and the US economy expanding 3.1 percent.

Japan's economy is expected to grow 0.9 percent this year and 1.1 percent in 2015, while China's economy is forecast to grow 7.4 percent and 7.3 percent.

Also on Monday, data from the Federal Reserve showed that US industrial production fell 0.1 percent in August, with manufacturing output declining 0.4 percent as car production fell 7.6 percent.

Over the weekend, China had reported that industrial production rose 6.9 percent in August from the previous year, sharply lower than the 9.0 percent growth in July and the weakest growth since December 2008.

Other data released over the weekend showed that Chinese retail sales rose 11.9 percent in August from the previous year, down from 12.2 percent in July, while fixed asset investment rose 16.5 percent in the first eight months of this year from the corresponding period last year, down from the 17.0 percent increase for the first seven months.

Also over the weekend, another international body, the Bank for International Settlements, released its quarterly review.

In the review, the BIS noted that financial market volatility spiked higher in August on the back of geopolitical concerns and worries over economic growth but quickly returned to “exceptional lows” across most asset classes.

“By fostering risk-taking and the search for yield, accommodative monetary policies thus continued to contribute to an environment of elevated asset price valuations and exceptionally subdued volatility,” the BIS said.