OECD area GDP grows 4.5% year-on-year in Q3

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2021, rising over its pre-COVID-19 level for the first time, the organization said.

Economic growth in July-September slowed down compared to the previous quarter, when the figure was 13.2%, the OECD data showed Thursday.

"Gross domestic product (GDP) of the OECD area rose above its pre-pandemic level for the first time in the third quarter of 2021, despite slower growth than in the second quarter," it said in a statement.

The GDP rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the OECD area in July-September, compared with 1.7% this April-June.

G7 economies posted a similar growth rate – 0.9% – as the OECD area in total.

"While US GDP exceeded its pre-pandemic level by 1.4% in the third quarter of 2021, GDP of the other six countries remained below pre-pandemic levels," it noted.

France saw the strongest quarterly economic growth from July to September with 3.0%, followed by Italy (2.6%).

Japan was the only G7 country to report a contraction in the third quarter of 2021, down 0.8% compared to the previous quarter.

In the euro area and the EU27, GDP rose by 2.2% and 2.1% respectively in July-September.