G20 GDP Growth Stable

Growth of real gross domestic product in the Group of 20 area was stable at 0.9%, in the first quarter of 2017, according to provisional estimates.

Growth picked up in Korea to 1.1%, from 0.5%; and, to a lesser extent, in Canada to 0.9%, from 0.7%, Germany to 0.6%, from 0.4%; and Italy to 0.4%, from 0.3%.  Real GDP also grew by 1% in Brazil, following eight consecutive quarters of contraction.

Growth was unchanged in India at 1.5%, Indonesia (1.2%), Mexico (0.7%), the European Union (0.6%), and Japan (0.3%), TradeArabia reported.

On the other hand, economic growth slowed markedly in Turkey to 1.4%, from 3.4%; and Australia to 0.3%, from 1.1%. Growth also weakened in the UK to 0.2%, from 0.7%, China to 1.3%, from 1.7%, the US to 0.3%, from 0.5%; and France to 0.4%, from 0.5%. In South Africa, GDP contracted further to minus 0.2%, compared with a drop of 0.1% in the previous quarter.

Year-on-year GDP growth for the G20 area increased to 3.4% in the first quarter of 2017 from 3.3% in the previous quarter, with China 6.9% and India 6.2% recording the highest growth rates and Brazil the lowest rate at minus 0.4%.

GDP is the standard measure of the value of the goods and services produced by a country during a reference period. The estimate of GDP growth for the G20 aggregate is produced by the OECD Secretariat. It is based on quarterly seasonally adjusted data reported by G20 countries and Eurostat, and, if country data are not available, it is based on estimates from the OECD’s Secretariat.