UK growing at fastest rate in developed world, says OECD

By  Szu Ping Chan, and agencies

Britain is now the fastest growing economy in the developed world, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data confirmed on Monday. 

The OECD said the UK's growth rate of 0.8pc in the three months to the end of September meant it expanded faster than the United States, Japan, Germany, France and Italy on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Britain's growth rate was also higher than the OECD average of 0.5pc. 

Compared with the same quarter last year, Japan recorded the highest growth rate, at 2.6pc, highlighting the effects of prime minister Shinzo Abe's massive stimulus programme - dubbed "Abenomics" by analysts. 

The UK grew by 1.5pc on an annual basis in the third quarter, the OECD said, while the average growth rate among the OECD's 34 developed economies accelerated to 1.4pc compared with 1pc in the second quarter. 

The latest data also confirmed the eurozone's recovery remains fragile. Growth in the UK and US is picking up, though the government shutdown in America is likely to have impacted fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP). 

Growth in the eurozone powerhouse Germany slowed sharply to 0.3pc from 0.7pc in the second quarter. The French economy also slipped, contracting by 0.1pc having expanded by 0.5pc in the second quarter. 

Recent figures for France, coupled with recent critical comments about French economic policy from the European Commission and the OECD, and a credit downgrade by Standard and Poor's, have focused attention on economic and social pressures on the French government, led by Francois Hollande.