OECD economies return to growth

CHARLIE TAYLOR

The economies of the 30 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rose by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates released today.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the leading seven economies - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and UK - rose 0.7 per cent from July to September following zero growth in the previous quarter.

However, within this group, there was consideration variation in rates, from a 1.2 per cent increase in Japan to a 0.4 decline in the United Kingdom.

GDP in the euro zone was up 0.4 per cent and up 0.2 per cent in the European Union as a whole. This compared to declines of 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent in the preceding quarter.

For OECD countries, GDP fell 3.3 per cent over the year to the end of September. The United States contributed 0.8 per cent to the total OECD fall, with Japan 0.5 per cent, the euro zone 1.1 per cent, and the remaining countries 0.9 per cent.

The OECD area covers the 30 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.