Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive on Thursday both underlined the global nature of the downturn in consumer spending, while expressing confidence in the ability of their branded goods businesses to ride out the economic recession.

P&G, the world’s largest consumer goods company by sales, said its third-quarter sales had been hit in particular by devaluations and economic problems in eastern Europe and Russia, while it had been obliged to increase local currency prices across developing markets to offset the strengthening of the US dollar.