Business activity and household spending in most economies across the globe are accelerating or remaining strong as we enter 2018, according to an economic report issued by Scotiabank, Canada’s leading financial services provider in North America.
Scotiabank’s Global Outlook forecasts the U.S. economy to grow by 2.5% in 2018, prompting a rise in inflation and a change in monetary policy to be less stimulating. The Report assesses economies around the world showing Europe projecting 2.8% growth in 2018 with little inflationary pressure, the Latin America countries of Peru, Chile and Colombia showing strong accelerating growth and Mexico projecting 2.4% growth.
“Against this backdrop of synchronized growth, wage and inflation developments continue to diverge. In Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, wage and/or inflation dynamics require a continued withdrawal of monetary stimulus, while in Europe and Japan, inflation remains stubbornly low with little sign of acceleration,” according to the Report’s press release.
The Report notes a range of global geopolitical concerns: tensions with North Korea, US trade and political developments, and some caution about equity market valuations in view of the length and sustainability of the current expansion.
