G-20 economic growth accelerated in 1st quarter, shows OECD data

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The Group of 20 nations saw their cumulative gross domestic product growth rate accelerated in the first quarter of 2023 thanks to reopening of China after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to provisional data released on Wednesday.

The G-20 area's GDP grew 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in January-March, up from 0.4% in the final quarter of 2022, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a report.

The Chinese economy posted a quarterly growth rate of 2.2% in the first quarter of 2023 following a 0.6% growth in the previous quarter.

India's GDP rose 1.9% in the three months to March, accelerating from 1% in the previous period.

Several economies returned to growth after contracting in the fourth quarter of 2022, such as Brazil whose GDP rose 1.9% in the first quarter after shrinking 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In South Africa and South Korea, GDP increased 0.4% and 0.3% after contracting 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively.

In the contrary, the German economy entered recession with its GDP falling 0.3% in the first quarter and 0.4% in the previous quarter as decreases in government spending and private consumption weighed heavily on Europe's largest economy.

Saudi Arabia's GDP also dropped 1.4% in January-March for the first time in two years, mainly reflecting a decrease in oil activities.