Colin Gleadell does a little math to give us a sense of where the year is heading. Global markets continue to roil with pervasive uncertainty due to China’s slowing growth and credit problems combined with the disastrous competition between oil producers to drive each other out of business.

So perhaps we should not be surprised that consignors are not eager to test the demand for Impressionist and Modern work:

Auction sales at Sotheby’s last year maintained the previous year’s level at $5.989 billion (£4.11 billion), indicating the art boom has reached a plateau.

Estimates received so far for next month’s Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art sales in London are also lower than last year suggesting that sellers are not quite so confident about the months ahead.

Sotheby’s main Impressionist and Modern art sale, for instance, is estimated at £97.6 million to £128.4 million pounds for 54 lots compared to last February’s £139 million to £196 million estimate for 75 lots.

Market News: the art boom plateau?  (Telegraph)