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

ANKARA

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.