The combined growth of OECD countries' gross domestic product continued at a steady pace in the second quarter of the year, at 0.5%.
OECD gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2024, the same pace as the previous quarter according to provisional estimates.
According to the report published today by the entity, while the overall GDP growth rate of the OECD remained unchanged in the second quarter of 2024, in the G7 nations GDP grew faster in the second quarter, 0.5% compared to 0.2% in the first quarter.
Growth in Japan increased by 0.8% in the second quarter, after a contraction of 0.6% in the first quarter.
The OECD analysis states that this recovery was driven by private consumption (1.0% in the second quarter compared to -0.6% in the first quarter) and investment (1.7%, compared to -0.9%).
In the United States, growth accelerated from 0.4% in the first quarter to 0.7% in the second quarter, driven mainly by an increase in private consumption (0.6% compared to 0.4% in the first quarter).
It also rose slightly in Canada (from 0.4% to 0.5%) and remained unchanged in France (at 0.3%). On the other hand, the German economy contracted slightly (-0.1% in the second quarter after growth of 0.2% in the first), due to "a decrease, in particular, in gross fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment and in construction," according to the country's statistics office.
Growth also slowed slightly in Italy and the UK in the second quarter to 0.2% and 0.6% respectively, compared with 0.3% and 0.7% in the first.
LATIN AMERICAN PERFORMANCE
Of the other OECD economies for which data are available, more than half performed worse in the second quarter than in the first. Israel experienced the most significant slowdown, with quarter-on-quarter GDP growth falling from 4.1% in the first to 0.3% in the second.
In Chile, the economy contracted by 0.6% after growing by 2.1% in the first quarter, while Colombia's growth rate fell to 0.1% from 1.2% in the first quarter.
Growth turned negative in Latvia (-1.1%), Sweden (-0.8%), Hungary and Korea (-0.2% in both countries).
In contrast, the OECD countries that showed the highest growth in the second quarter were Poland, with GDP growth of 1.5%, Costa Rica and Ireland (1.2% in both countries) and the Netherlands (1.0%).
On an annual basis, GDP growth across the OECD bloc was 1.8% in the second quarter of 2024, slightly above the 1.7% growth seen in the first quarter.
Among the G7 economies, meanwhile, the United States recorded the highest growth over the past four quarters (3.1%), while Japan recorded the largest decline (-0.8%).
