Growth in OECD region slows down; expands 0.4% in Dec

Bs_logoImage
Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jan 25 2013 | 2:53 AM IST

Growth of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) region, which accounts for over 60% of the global economy, declined to 0.4% in the last three months of 2010 as compared to 0.6% in the September quarter, 2010, raising concerns about the pace of global economic recovery

The OECD comprises 34 countries, including the US, the UK, Germany and France.

After registering good expansion in the first half of 2010, most of the European economies are seeing slow growth and rising unemployment.

"Gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010, down from the 0.6% growth recorded in the previous quarter," Paris-based OECD, a grouping of mostly developed nations, said in a statement today.

Economic contractions in Japan and the UK added to the sluggishness in growth. While Japanese GDP fell 0.3% in the final three months of 2010, European major UK's GDP dropped 0.5% during the same period.

OECD noted that slowdown in Japan partly reflected the "unwinding of stimulus measures to boost domestic demand", whereas severe weather conditions adversely impacted the British economy.

Earlier this week, official data had showed that German and French economies grew 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, in the 2010 December quarter.

During the same three months, the 16-nation euro zone -- grouping of countries that share common currency euro -- expanded less-than-expected at 0.3%.

The American economy rose 0.8% in last quarter of 2010 as compared to 0.6% expansion in the previous three months.

Meanwhile, latest data showed that OECD economies grew 2.9% in 2010 after contracting as much as 3.5% in the previous year.

Many developed and developing countries are grappling with diverse problems such as rising unemployment levels, soaring inflation and widening fiscal deficit.

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories

  • Over 30 subscriber-only stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Feb 17 2011 | 5:51 PM IST