Real GDP in OECD area grows by 0.4% in Q1

Real GDP in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area rose by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2013, compared with flat growth registered in the previous quarter, according to the new survey released by the OECD Thursday. The data showed that private consumption was the main driver of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth as it contributed to overall GDP growth with 0.3 percentage point in January-March period. In the meanwhile, net exports and stockbuilding contributed 0.1 percentage point each. Gross fixed capital formation reduced GDP growth by 0.1 percentage point, while the contribution of government consumption was negligible. the OECD said in the monthly report. However, contributions to real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2013 showed divergency across the OECD countries. Private consumption was the main contributor to overall GDP growth in Germany with 0.4 percentage point, in Japan and the United States with 0.5 percentage point each. In Canada, net exports were the main driver of GDP growth,contributing 0.4 percentage point. For Eurozone's second largest economy France, stockbuilding provided the main positive contribution with 0.2 percentage point, followed by government consumption with 0.1 percentage point, though these were largely offset by contraction in private consumption, gross fixed capital formation and net exports. In Italy, stockbuilding was the only factor that provided a positive contribution with 0.3 percentage point. The OECD figures showed that Britain's main contributor to GDP growth was net exports with 0.6 percentage point, followed by private consumption with 0.3 percentage point.