With gold stabilising after its recent declines - which were based on worries about countries such as Cyprus selling some of their reserves along with signs of slowdown in China - and base metals such as copper recovering, mining shares regained some lost ground.
A slowdown across the Atlantic would be bad news for Britain's exporters.
The result was a mid-single-digit decline in Hong Kong spending during the second half of the year, the company said, accompanied by a slowdown in mainland China, but countered by a slight lift in Europe.
Recent reports have pointed to a slowdown at the end of 2014 for both industry and construction while consumer spending appears to have held up.
It, too, said the slowdown at the opening of 2015 would likely prove temporary.
Overall the FTSE 100 is currently 13.57 points higher at 6580.81, with mining shares boosted by the better than expected Chinese trade figures, although imports were weaker than expected, and inflation data continued to suggest a slowdown.
Activity in the French service sector has barely increased this month, while factory managers also reported a slowdown.
Balls argued the recent slowdown in the US, Ireland and mainland Europe meant Labour should argue against the Tories in classic Keynesian terms that to cut the deficit now risks hastening recession, and ultimately a bigger deficit.
But a decline in commodity prices and a slowdown in the rate of China's growth will sap Latin America's expansion, the bank predicts, making it difficult "to expand the social gains amassed over the economic boom over the past decade".
Analysts see little chance of that pattern changing in coming months as continued troubles among the UK's key trading partner, the eurozone, and a slowdown in China weigh on exports.
The CBI on Monday joins other forecasters in cutting its outlook for the UK economy after a sharp slowdown at the start of the year.
