Tuba Şahin
30 August 2021•Update: 30 August 2021
ANKARA
Economic growth in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) area stood at 1.6% in the second quarter of this year, from 0.6% in the previous quarter, according to the latest figures released on Monday.
The UK posted the strongest growth of 4.8% in the April-June period, versus a contraction of 1.6% in the previous quarter, the OECD said in a statement.
It was followed by Italy, where the gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.7% from 0.2% in the previous quarter.
Economies of both the US and Germany expanded by 1.6%, compared with 1.5% and minus 2.0%, respectively, in the first quarter.
In France and Japan, GDP growth stood at 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively.
In the eurozone and the EU, GDP growth turned positive in the second quarter of the year to 2.0% and 1.9%, respectively, after declines of 0.3% and 0.1% in the previous quarter, the data shows.
Despite accelerating growth in the April-June period, the OECD GDP is “still below pre-pandemic levels,” the organization said.
When comparing economic activity with pre-pandemic levels – the last quarter of 2019 – the GDP “still lags behind for the OECD area as a whole (minus 0.7%).”
Compared to the same quarter of last year, the GDP of the OECD area jumped 13% this April-June.
Turkey’s GDP figures for the second quarter of 2021 will be released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Wednesday.
