(Telecompaper) Worldwide IT spending is set to decline by 1.3 percent to USD 3.66 trillion this year, according to the latest forecast from Gartner. The analyst has had to substantially revise its January estimate of a 2.4 percent growth due above all to the US dollar's rise against most global currencies. "The recent rapid rise in the value of the US dollar against most currencies has put a currency shock into the global IT market," said Gartner. Stripping out the impact of exchange rate movements, the corresponding IT spending growth at constant-currency rates would be 3.1 percent, the report said. The sharpest fall in spending will be seen in telecom services, which is projected to shrink by 2.6 percent to USD 1.57 trillion in 2015 due to reductions in total connections for developed markets because growth in data-only connected devices and multi-SIM connections were not as high as previously expected.