The OECD area likely saw GDP fall for the first time in seven years, down 0.1% in the third quarter, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reported Thursday.

According to preliminary estimates, U.S. GDP fell by 0.1% in the third quarter, the first contraction since the third quarter of 2001. Japan’s GDP also declined by 0.1%, following a 0.9% fall in the previous quarter. GDP in the euro area was down by 0.2%, the same rate of decline as in the previous quarter.

Among the seven major countries, GDP change in the third quarter ranged from a 0.5% fall in Germany, Italy and the UK to 0.1% rise in France – the only country showing positive growth in the quarter. GDP fell for two consecutive quarters in Germany, Italy and Japan.

The OECD noted that data is available from all the major seven countries except Canada, so GDP for Canada is estimated using the OECD forecast (that estimate was not reported).

Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, GDP growth was highest in Germany and the US (0.8%) and lowest in Italy (-0.9%) in the third quarter of 2008.

The U.S. contributed 0.3 percentage point to total OECD growth of 0.9% between the third quarter of 2007 and the third quarter of 2008 but no contribution came from Japan. The euro area contributed 0.2 and the remaining countries 0.4 percentage point.

IE