Growth remained weak in Q4: OECD

Economic growth limped along in the fourth quarter, according to new data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based group reported that GDP in the OECD area rose by 0.4% in the fourth quarter.

“Quarterly OECD GDP growth rates have remained weak over the past two years,” it noted.

For the G7 countries, quarter-over-quarter GDP growth slowed to 0.4% in the fourth quarter, down from 0.5% in the previous quarter.

“This reflects a mixed picture among G7 countries,” it said.

For instance, growth contracted in the U.K., Germany and Japan, but stayed positive in the U.S., where quarterly growth slowed to 0.8% in Q4 from 1.2% in the previous quarter.

Conversely, the Canadian economy saw a recovery in Q4, the OECD said, with fourth quarter growth coming in at 0.3%, reversing a contraction in the third quarter.

Growth also increased slightly in Italy, it noted.

The OECD said initial estimates of annual growth indicate that GDP rose 1.6% in 2023, down from 2.9% in 2022, amid higher core inflation and tighter monetary policy.

Among the countries with available data, 10 saw GDP contract in 2023, and 14 countries saw growth slow but stay positive.

Only three economies recorded higher annual growth in 2023, including a couple of heavyweights, the U.S. and Japan — with the U.S. recording 2.5% growth in 2023, up from 1.9% in 2022, and Japan generating 1.9% in 2023, up from 1.0% the previous year.