GDP growth in OECD countries ground to a halt during the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development that show growth of 0.0%.

Annual growth slowed down to 0.8% from 1.2%. This is the lowest annual growth recorded since the beginning of 1995, the first year in which comparable OECD data was available for all 30 member countries.

In the United States, GDP fell by -0.3% in the third quarter of 2001, its first decline since the beginning of 1991, while annual growth slowed down markedly to 0.6% from 1.2% in the previous quarter.

Japanese GDP fell again in the third quarter of 2001, registering a 0.5% decline following the 1.2% contraction in the previous quarter, and it was 0.5% lower than a year earlier.

Among the G7, four countries showed negative growth in the third quarter of 2001 compared to the preceding quarter, Canada at -0.2%, Germany with -0.1%, Japan and the US. Positive growth rates were observed for France, the UK and Italy.

In the Euro area overall, GDP was unchanged from the previous quarter at 0.1%, and growth over the year slowed down to 1.3% from 1.7% in the second quarter of 2001.