SKF,the world's biggest bearings maker, said demand in North America remained healthy despite recent signs of slowdown coming out of the U.S. economy.

"Order intake thus far in Q3 has been in line with the forecast we gave in July," spokeswoman Ingalill Ostman said on Thursday. "We see no reason to change the forecast we gave in the (July) report."

SKF, a bellwether for manufacturing given its bearings are used in items from dishwashers to passenger jets, said in mid-July it saw slightly higher demand in the third quarter versus the second in North America, which accounts for roughly a fifth of group revenue.

Since then, U.S. economic indicators weeks have painted a gloomy picture with slower second-quarter growth and higher than expected unemployment in July fanning fears the recovery could stall.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve offered fresh aid to the faltering recovery, saying it would use proceeds from nearly $1.3 trillion in mortgage-linked bonds to buy government debt, a policy shift for the central bank.

SKF shares were down 2.1 percent at 1230 GMT.

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