Global economic growth lost further impetus at the end of the third quarter, as September saw the rate of output expansion slip to a nine-month low.
Emerging markets were the main drag on headline global growth, whereas the performances of the developed economies held up better in comparison. The J.P.Morgan Global All-Industry Output Index1,2 – which is produced by J.P.Morgan and Markit in association with ISM and IFPSM – fell to 52.8 in September, from 53.9 in August.
The average reading over the third quarter as a whole (53.5) was below that registered in the second quarter. Although tracking on a subdued growth rate trend, global economic output has nonetheless expanded in each of the past 36 months. Further (albeit slower) increases were seen for both manufacturing output and service sector business activity during September.
Among the developed nations, rates of all-industry output expansion held up well in the US and the eurozone. Both recorded solid increases, despite the pace of growth easing to three- and four-month lows respectively. The slowdown in the UK economy continued, while Japan registered only a modest and weaker increase in economic activity. Within the euro area, output rose in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland.
Although France was the only one of these nations to signal faster expansion, its rate of growth remained behind the others. Emerging markets generally performed poorly during September. The China All-Industry Output PMI remained below 50.0 for the second straight month, while Brazil remained in a severe downturn. Russia fared slightly better, seeing a marginal increase in economic activity following last month’s contraction.
