Beauty and Personal Care: Quarterly Statement Q3 2018

GDP Growth Highlights

US

We have raised US real GDP growth forecasts to 2.7% in 2018 and 2.6% in 2019. Fiscal stimulus is the key contributor to the faster growth, while private sector confidence remains high.

Eurozone

The Eurozone economy has slowed down. Yet private confidence remains high and borrowing costs - low. Real GDP growth forecast lowered to 2.1% in 2018 and 1.8% in 2019.

UK

Brexit uncertainty continues hurting the UK economy. Following weak economic performance in Q1 2018, the real GDP growth forecast has been downgraded to 1.2% in 2018 and 1.3% in 2019.

Japan

Weaker-than-expected Q1 2018 economic performance in Japan and tensions in the foreign trade arena have resulted in a real GDP growth forecast decline to 1.1% in 2018 and 1.0% in 2019.

China

China’s GDP rose by 6.8% in the first half of 2018, but output growth is likely to slow in the second half. The real GDP growth forecast remains unchanged at 6.5% in 2018 and 6.3% in 2019.

Brazil

Lower growth in Q1 2018, falling consumer confidence and a truckers’ strike have prompted us to cut Brazil’s real GDP growth to 1.9% in 2018. The forecast for 2019 is unchanged at 2.5%.

Russia

A higher oil price has had a positive impact on the Russian economy. Domestic demand is also supporting GDP growth. We see real GDP grow by 1.5% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2019.

India

India’s economy appears to be back on track. Investment growth is expected to continue as demand improves. This keeps our real GDP growth forecast unchanged at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019.