Mumbai, Sep 23 (IANS): Worldwide IT spending across vertical industries is forecast to total $2.69 trillion in 2015, a 3.5 percent decrease from 2014, according to the latest forecast by market research firm Gartner.

Analysts said all industries will show negative growth due to disparities in global currency exchange rates.

"Appreciation of the US dollar (mainly against the euro, yen and the ruble), along with the relative slowdown of emerging markets (particularly Russia, Brazil and China), had a double impact on IT spending in 2015, and explains the downward revision in the forecast," said Gartner's vice president, research, Anurag Gupta.

"Unsurprisingly, most technology firms reporting revenue in US dollars have taken a negative hit on their quarterly revenue earnings," he added.

Although all industries are expected to experience negative growth in 2015, Gartner remained firm on projections for the top three growth industries - retail, banking and securities, and healthcare providers - leading industry growth.

While Gartner says that IT spending in the retail sector is forecast to decline 1.5 percent in 2015, the IT spending in the banking and securities segment is forecast to decline 2.4 percent. In the healthcare provider industry, IT spending will decline 2.7 percent in 2015.

Other sectors which include education, government, insurance, communications and media services, transportation and utilities show a decline in IT spending of over 2.7 percent.