The gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area grew by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012, up 0.1 points from the previous quarter, according to provisional figures published by the Paris-based organization.
This growth, however, continued to mask diverging patterns among the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Japan, Germany and the United States have respectively experienced a growth rate of 1 percent, 0.5 percent and 0.5 percent. But economic activity remained weak in the euro area and the European Union (EU) as a whole.
In Europe, Italy saw the third straight quarter of contraction, with GDP falling 0.8 percent, while in Britain, GDP decreased by 0.3 percent for the second consecutive quarter. In France, GDP leveled off in the first quarter of 2012.
On the year-on-year basis, GDP growth increased by 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2012 in the OECD area. Among the major seven OECD economies, Japan recorded the highest growth rate at 2.6 percent, followed by the United States at 2.1 percent, while Italy posted the lowest growth rate by minus 1.3 percent./.