The world economy [June 1990]

The growth of Gross Domestic Product slowed rapidly for the major industrialised countries in the last quarter of 1989. As this paper describes, GDP growth for the G7 countries averaged just 0.5 between October and December; for the whole of 1989 growth averaged 3.3% compared with 4.5% in 1988. Most rapid growth during 1989 was experienced in Japan (4.9%), with the lowest being the UK (2.1%). The remaining G7 countries (excluding Italy) were as follows: France 3.4%; West Germany 3.9%; Canada 2.87%; USA 3.0%. There was also some slowing down in industrial production in the last quarter of 1989, and for the year as a whole OECD countries averaged 2.6% growth. In January industrial production fell in four of the G7 countries and was static in another; only France and Japan showed slight increases. The result of this was that industrial production in the G7 countries rose by just 1.3% in the year to January, just half the annual rate of the year to October 1989. In the twelve months to January growth rates among the G7 varied from West Germany and Japan at 4.6% and 3.4% respectively to Canada at -0.2%.