Real GDP in the OECD area grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net exports and private consumption were the main contributors partly offset by an unwinding of inventories. This reverses the pattern seen in earlier quarters where inventory-rebuilding had contributed positively to GDP growth and net exports had contributed negatively.


Over the whole of 2010, private consumption was the main driver of real GDP annual growth, contributing 1.2 percentage point to the overall 2.9% recorded growth.

Contributions to OECD real GDP growth



Real GDP was up 0.8% in Canada and the United States in the fourth quarter of 2010 reflecting increased private consumption and net exports with a significant negative contribution from inventories. In Canada exports rose strongly by 4.0% in Q4 (compared with -0.4% in Q3) and in the United States imports fell sharply by 3.3% in Q4 (compared with a 4.0% rise in Q3). Similarly, in France, real GDP growth was driven by private consumption and net exports, offset partly by significant destocking. In Germany, net exports again provided the main driver for overall growth.

In Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, inventories provided the main growth driver with negative contributions from net exports for the second consecutive quarter. In Japan and the United Kingdom private consumption also contributed negatively to overall growth.