GDP growth in OECD countries slowed in the first quarter

GDP grew by 1.1 percent in the third quarter of last year, 1.7 percent in the second quarter, and 0.8 percent in the first quarter.

More narrowly, the G7 economy contracted 0.1 percent in the first quarter of this year after rising 1.2 percent in the previous three months. Within this, US GDP fell 0.4 percent (up 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter), Japan fell 0.2 percent (0.9 percent), according to the OECD website.