According to provisional estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD increased by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. OECD quarterly GDP growth rates have remained weak for the past two years. In the G7, quarterly GDP growth slowed slightly to 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 0.5% in the third quarter. This reflects a mixed picture among the G7 countries. On the one hand, GDP contracted in the United Kingdom (-0.3%) and Japan (-0.1%) for the second consecutive quarter. GDP also contracted in Germany (-0.3%) after two quarters of zero growth. Growth slowed in the United States (to 0.8% in the fourth quarter from 1.2% in the third quarter), and France recorded zero growth for the second consecutive quarter. Conversely, the Canadian economy saw a recovery, with growth of 0.3% in the fourth quarter after a contraction in the third quarter. In Italy, growth increased slightly to 0.2%. In the G7 countries that experienced negative growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, there were several contributing factors. In the United Kingdom, the decline in services exports (-6.0%) was the main drag on growth.
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