OECD area experiences sharpest economic contraction since 1960
13:51, 26 May 2009
PARIS. May 26. KAZINFORM Developed countries experienced the sharpest economic contraction on record in the first quarter of 2009, the largest fall since 1960, said the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
The gross domestic product of the 30 OECD member countries shrank by 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, after a drop of 2 percent of GDP in the last quarter of 2008.
According to OECD estimates, among the seven largest OECD countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada -- only France have an ease contraction in the first quarter, with the economy fell 1.2 percent after falling 1.5 percent in the previous quarter; Kazinform cites Xinhua.