THE Real GDP growth in the OECD area slowed to
0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 0.6 % growth in the previous
quarter. All major components of final demand contributed to the slowdown except
changes in inventories, whose contribution increased from -0.2 percentage point
in the third quarter to 0.0 percentage point in the fourth quarter. While growth
in private consumption, investment and net exports slowed in the fourth quarter,
the contributions remained positive. Government consumption contracted in the
fourth quarter, dragging overall GDP growth down by 0.1 percentage point.
The pattern of a broad-based slowdown in demand components in the fourth quarter
differed at the national level, reflecting in part differences in economic
growth rates.
|
