Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia cut further its global handset market forecast for this year's final-quarter and expected the market would decline in the next year due to the world economic slowdown, according to reports reaching here from Helsinki Thursday.

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, estimated that mobile phone market volumes in the fourth quarter would be lower than the previous estimate of approximately 330 million units, which would result in full year 2008 mobile phone volumes below the earlier estimate of 1.24 billion units.

And for 2009, it expected, the mobile phone market will continue to be negatively impacted by the effects of a slowdown in consumer spending and handset market volumes would fall by five percent or more from 2008 levels. It would be the first real decline in a market that has experienced exceptional growth for more than a decade.

The mobile phone market slowdown has continued more rapidly than previously expected since Nokia issued an update three weeks ago, the Finnish mobile phone maker said in a statement.

The industry continues to be impacted by the effects of a global consumer pull-back in spending, currency volatility, and decreased availability of credit, it added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)