The global economic upswing is faltering with only the Latin America and Oceania escaping doldrums, seeing stable performance in one case and a slight upturn in the other, according to the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The ICC's quarterly World Economic Survey - complied by the ICC and Munich's Ifo Institute for Economic Research - fell 10 points to 97.7 in the third quarter of 2011, reported London's Containerisation International. Principle declines were in Asia, the US and Western Europe.
In Asia, the fall was attributed to endeavours by most nations to moderate their rapid growth to stem rampant inflation, whereas the climate in Europe dimmed due to the once robust economies of Germany, Sweden and Switzerland losing momentum.
In the US, the ICC said, the economy is still fragile, the recovery weak and not at all strong enough to lead to a substantial improvement in the labour market.
The survey report was based on the assessment of 1,080 economic experts in 117 countries.