Slowing US, China growth add to new Indian govts worries Growth Slowing growth and unemployment have emerged as key election issues with the opposition slamming the ruling coalition of mismanaging the economy. TNN & Agencies | May 1, 2014, 01.16AM IST NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON/SHANGHAI: The US economy grew 0.1% in the March quarter while a top Chinese government thinktank projected slower growth in 2014 adding to concerns for the new government in India which assumes office later in May against the backdrop of a patchy monsoon forecast. While scanty monsoon rains may hurt farm output and stoke food inflation, slowing growth in two major global economies is likely to hit Indian exports and dent confidence which is already running low due to the prolong economic slowdown at home. Growth has slowed to a decade low of below 5% while prices remain high heaping pressure on the common man. Slowing growth and unemployment have emerged as key election issues with the opposition slamming the ruling coalition of mismanaging the economy. A higher probability of El Nino, a weather phenomena which hurts the southwest June-Septemebr monsoon has already stoked concerns about the impact on overall growth and prices. Economist say this is a huge challenge for the new government which is expected to hit the ground running to revive growth and sentiment. US data showed in the first quarter exports tumbled and businesses accumulated stocks at the slowest pace in nearly a year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.1% annual rate, the slowest since the fourth quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That was a sharp pullback from the fourth quarters 2.6% pace and was worse than economists expectations for a slowdown to a 1.2% rate. Separate data showed the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), one of Beijings top government think tanks, revised its 2014 GDP growth forecast down to 7.4%, below the official 7.5% target, and said growth could slow to as low as 7%, The downward revision follows signs that Chinas economy slowed more than expected in the first quarter. A report in the official China Securities Journal quoted the report published on Tuesday as saying that Chinas economic growth would continue to be driven by investment, but warned that excess production capacity and heavy local government debt burdens would slow fixed asset investment.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 06:09:37 +0000