GDP growth slows in OECD area in Q2

ISTANBUL

The growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries slowed in the second quarter of this year, the organization said on Monday.

The quarterly growth rate was 0.4% in the second quarter, down from 0.5% in the first quarter, the OECD said in a statement.

Among 38 OECD countries closest to the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone, GDP recovered strongly in Lithuania (2.8%) in the April-June period, after contracting by 2.1% the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, GDP contracted sharply in Poland in the second quarter (minus 3.7%) following 3.8% growth in the Jan-March period.

Among other OECD countries, Ireland saw the strongest GDP growth (3.3%) in the second quarter, followed by Slovenia (1.4%) and Costa Rica (1.3%).

In contrast, GDP contracted in 10 OECD countries, with Sweden leading the way (minus 1.5%) and Colombia trailing (minus 1.0%).

The G-7 posted a larger growth rate in the second quarter with 0.5%, up from 0.4% in the previous quarter.

"GDP growth increased noticeably in Japan (to 1.5% in Q2 2023, compared with 0.9% in Q1) and in France (to 0.5%, compared with 0.1%)," it noted.

It added that "GDP in the OECD area exceeded its pre-pandemic (Q4 2019) level by 5.1% in the second quarter of 2023.

"In the G7, GDP exceeded its pre-pandemic level by 4.0%, although in the United Kingdom GDP still remained slightly below its pre-pandemic level."​​​​​​​