The Ifo World Economic Climate Indicator continued to rise, even if only slightly. Both assessments of the current economic situation and the six-month economic outlook improved slightly compared to the previous quarter. There are a growing number of signs that the world economy is stabilising.
While the economic climate indicator rose only slightly in Western Europe and North America, it increased sharply in Asia. Thanks to much brighter assessments of the economic situation and expectations, the indicator for Asia reached its highest mark since the end of 2010. In North America assessments of the current economic situation are somewhat better, but remain below the satisfactory mark. The experts surveyed remain positive about the sixmonth economic outlook, but to a somewhat lesser degree than last quarter. In Western Europe the economic situation remains unfavourable. Economic expectations for the next six months, on the other hand, are slightly more positive, leading to a moderate overall improvement in the economic climate.
World average inflation estimates for 2013 fell somewhat from 3.3% to 3.2%. WES experts on average expect short-term interest rates to remain largely unchanged over the next six months, while long-term interest rates are expected to increase slightly. On worldwide average, economic experts expect moderate increase in the value of the US dollar over the next six months.