Finance professionals around the world grew more confident in global economic conditions for the third consecutive quarter although confidence remains lower than the first quarter of 2022, according to a new survey.
This comes from the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS), published by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Institute of Management Accountants.
Finance professionals in Western Europe had the greatest confidence improvement, rising 30 points as economic fears around the Russia-Ukraine conflict stabilized and energy prices declined, according to the survey. Confidence in the Asia-Pacific region was boosted by the relaxation of China’s zero-COVID policy, according to the survey. North America increased around 10 points despite tightening Federal Reserve monetary policy, according to the survey.
“What stands out is the 30-point improvement in confidence in Western Europe,” said Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA in a press release. “However, this good news was not limited to Europe; Asia-Pacific, North America, and South Asia also registered an improvement. This was a broad-based pick-up, with the exception of Africa and the Middle East.”
In North America, particularly the United States, other macroeconomic indicators, such as capital spending, employment, and new orders, “remain relatively subdued” amidst a tightening Federal Reserve monetary policy, according to the GECS.
GECS also found that the global, manufacturing, and services sector experienced growth while headline inflation has declined since the beginning of 2023. However, service inflation, driven largely by wage increases, shows little sign of slowing according to the survey.—LR
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