The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued an early warning indicator today which pointed to slower times ahead in the United States and Europe.
The OECD's so-called leading indicator for August slid for the second month in a row for the United States, by 0.5 points to 118.3.
It also fell, for a third month running, for the euro area, by 0.3 points to 113.1, the OECD said. There were heavy falls for Germany and France, which together account for over 50 per cent of the 12-nation group's economic output.
The latest readout from the OECD confirmed what analysts have been saying for weeks - that the big economies appeared to have lost steam in late summer, raising added doubts about a long-predicted recovery from the downturn which began in 2000.
With often-mixed signals in Europe, Japan and the United States, and continued turmoil in stock markets across the globe, economists are still trying to figure out whether the world economy has "paused to catch its breath" or in danger of a second downturn.