OECD reveals 18 months of straight growth
GROSS domestic product (GDP) has grown for the sixth consecutive quarter among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Across 30 of the OECD’s member countries, the economy grew by an average of 0.6 per cent in the three months to September, according to data released yesterday. The results marked the fifth consecutive quarter of growth across the Eurozone. Meanwhile in Japan the rate of growth hit 0.9 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent growth in the last quarter.
Overall, the rate of GDP growth in OECD countries slowed, down from 0.9 per cent in the second quarter.
The OECD – a Paris-based group with 33 member countries – estimated British GDP growth at 0.8 per cent, slower than the previous quarter’s rate of 1.2 per cent.
Tomorrow the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) will publish its latest figures on British GDP, expected to show a 0.8 per cent rate of growth that would match the OECD’s calculations.
Last week the OECD revised up its forecasts for UK growth this year, yet cut its forecasts for growth in 2011 due to the expected effects of the government’s fiscal consolidation plans.