OECD GDP rose by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2014, but with large diverging patterns across countries

The quarterly real gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area rose by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2014, down from 0.5% in the previous quarter, as per provisional estimates.

The OECD total masks a wide spectrum of growth rates across countries, however. Real GDP growth accelerated strongly in Japan to 1.5%, compared with 0.1% in the previous quarter. In Germany, GDP grew by 0.8%, up from 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013. The United Kingdom also showed a strong growth of 0.8%, following a growth rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter. In the United States and France, on the other hand, GDP growth rates were almost flat, compared with 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively in the previous quarter. And in Italy, GDP contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2014, compared with a growth of 0.1% in the previous quarter.

In the Euro area, GDP growth remained stable, at 0.2% in the first quarter of 2014, while it decreased slightly in the European Union (0.3%, compared with 0.4%).

GDP year-on-year growth for the OECD area, at 2.1% in the first quarter of 2014, was slightly higher than in the fourth quarter of 2013 (2.0%). Among the Major Seven economies, the United Kingdom recorded the highest growth rate (3.1%) compared with the first quarter of 2013, followed by Japan (2.7%). Italy was the only country reporting a contraction (minus 0.5%).

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