The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced that gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area grew by 0.5 percent quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates.
Compared with the same quarter of 2011, GDP growth slowed to 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 in the OECD area. In the fourth quarter, China recorded the highest growth rate with 7.9 percent, while Italy saw the largest contraction with 2.8 percent, both year on year. For 2012 as a whole, GDP expanded by 2.8 percent year on year in the area, compared with 3.8 percent in 2011.
Compared to the previous quarter, Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom experienced a GDP contraction in the last quarter of 2012, from 0.9 percent in Italy and 0.6 Percent in Germany to 0.3 percent in France and the United Kingdom. In contrast, non-European countries recorded broadly stable or positive growth rates in the fourth quarter of 2012. Among other economies, India, Mexico, South Korea, Brazil and South Africa recorded a higher growth in the fourth quarter of 2012 than in the previous quarter, while in Australia, Indonesia and China GDP growth remained broadly stable.