Paris, France (BBN)-A “deeply concerning” slowdown in trade, particularly with China, will lead to lower global economic growth this year, the OECD said.
Global GDP is now expected to grow by 2.9 per cent, down from 3 per cent forecast in September, but will pick up to 3.3 per cent in 2016, reports BBC.
The OECD said trade has dropped to levels perilously close to those “associated with global recession”.
Worldwide trade growth is forecast at 2 per cent this year, down from 3.4 per cent in 2014.
Catherine Mann, the OECD chief economist, said: “This is deeply concerning. Robust trade and global growth go hand in hand.”
China, the world’s largest trader of goods, seems to be “at the heart of this” as its economic slowdown has hit other Asian economies and commodity exporters, she said.
The OECD has repeatedly cut its 2015 growth outlook from the 3.7 per cent it initially forecast last November.
But the organisation said Chinese stimulus measures would help global economic growth speed up next year, before accelerating to 3.6 per cent in 2017.
UK economic growth is projected to continue at a “robust pace”, with GDP growing 2.4 per cent this year and in 2016, before dropping slightly to 2.3 per cent in 2017.
BBN/SK/AD