OECD GDP grows by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015 | WPN World People News

Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015, down slightly from 0.5% in the first quarter, according to provisional estimates.

Gross domestic product

Percentage change on the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted data

The United Kingdom andthe United States recorded the highest GDP growth rates of the Major Seven economies picking up to 0.7% and 0.6% respectively in the second quarter, compared with 0.4% and 0.2% in the previous quarter.

In Germany, real GDP growth accelerated marginally to 0.4%, following a rate of 0.3% in the previous quarter.

Growth slowed markedly in the second quarter of 2015 in Japan with GDP contracting by 0.4% compared with growth of 1.1% in the previous quarter, and in France where growth was flat compared with 0.7% in the previous quarter.

In Italy, growth decelerated marginally to 0.2%, compared with 0.3% in the previous quarter.

In the European Union, GDP growth remained stable at 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015, while it slowed marginally in the euro area (0.3%, down from 0.4% in the first quarter of 2015).

Year-on-year GDP growth for the OECD area remained unchanged at 2.0% in the second quarter of 2015. Among the Major Seven economies, the United Kingdom (2.6%) and the United States (2.3%) continued to record the highest annual growth rates. Japan registered positive growth (0.7%) for the first time following four consecutive quarters of annual contraction.

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development