An analysis of leading indicator data by the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) today showed a growth in global economic activity in November.
The composite leading indicator (CLI) of economic activity rose to 123.6 in December from a downwards revised 122.8 in November.
CLI summarises information contained in a number of key short-term indicators known to be linked to GDP and provides early signals of turning points between expansions and slowdowns in economic activity.
"Moderate to strong recovery lies ahead in the OECD area according to the latest composite leading indicators," the OECD reaffirmed.
"December data signal continued strong improvement in the United States but weaker development in Italy," it said.
For the US, the CLI rose to 133.3 in December from 131.7 in November, while the euro zone figure rose to 123.8 from 123.5.
But the euro zone reading masked divergent trends between the main countries. The German CLI rose 1.1 points to 129.2 and the French indicator by 0.9 points to 120.1, but the Italian figure fell 1.5 points to 106.3.
Japan's CLI firmed 0.2 to 108.7 and the UK indicator rose 0.8 to 108.7.