The economic outlook for the United States and the euro zone brightened in October and Japan's prospects held steady in an early warning indicator issued by the OECD think tank today.
The so-called leading indicator - a forward-looking index the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compiles - registered 139.1 for the United States in October after 136.5 in September - the seventh monthly rise in a row.
"Moderate to strong recovery lies ahead in the OECD area according to the latest composite leading indicators," the Paris-based OECD, which groups 30 industrialised countries, said in a statement.
"October data signal continued accelerating performance in the United States and improving performance in the euro area, in particular for Germany and France," it added.
The leading indicator for the 12-nation euro zone rose to 123.5 from 122.5 in September and the OECD said that another of its measures, the underlying six-month rate of change, rose for the sixth consecutive month for the single currency zone.
The United State's six-month rate of change rose substantially for the seventh consecutive month. The upbeat assessment of US economic prospects came after other positive signs from the world's largest economy this week.