China, Turkey shoulder G-20 as Q2 growth tops pre-pandemic level

The economic growth of G-20 member nations in the April-June period has exceeded the pre-pandemic level, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) but warned that large differences exist across countries.

The gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the G-20 area in the second quarter has come in 0.7% higher than its pre-pandemic period, namely the fourth quarter of 2019, driven by China, which together with Turkey, saw the strongest recovery rates (8.2% and 8.8%, respectively), the data by the Paris-based body showed Wednesday.

However, it said the majority of countries “are still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels,” with India facing the largest gap between the second quarter and the last quarter of 2019 (8.1%), followed by the United Kingdom (4.4%) and Italy (3.8%).

The institution said the overall GDP growth of the G-20 area slowed to 0.4%, down from 0.9% in the first quarter.

However, it warned that the reading “conceals large differences” across countries.

Growth loses pace

Among the G-20 economies, growth paced down in Turkey to 0.9%, from 2.2% in the first quarter, in South Korea to 0.8% from 1.7% and in Australia to 0.7% from 1.9%.

To battle surging COVID-19 cases, Turkey reimposed curfews, weekend lockdowns and restaurant closures this year, including a tougher but brief lockdown in April and May due to surging COVID-19 cases.

But manufacturing and the broader economy were largely unaffected by the measures, which were completely lifted in June.

In India, GDP contracted sharply by 10.2% in the April-June period after a 2.3% growth in the first quarter.

Canada and Brazil also saw their GDP contract in the second quarter. Canada saw its economic output contract by 0.3% after 1.4% growth and Brazil’s economy declined 0.1% following a 1.2% expansion in the previous quarter.

Growth accelerated in Italy by 2.7% in the April-June period, up from 0.2% in the previous three months and 1.6% in the United States, from 1.5%. Mexico saw its second-quarter growth up by 1.5% from 1.1% in the previous quarter.

The European Union as a whole registered a GDP growth of 2.1%, following a contraction of 0.1%. Germany's economy expanded by 1.6% in the period following a contraction of 2% in the first quarter.

The U.K. economy grew at the fastest rate among the G-20 nations in the second quarter as its output expanded 4.8% between April and June, following a contraction of 1.6% in the previous quarter.

Saudi Arabia and Japan also resumed growth in the same period. Saudi Arabia’s economic output expanded 1.1% after declining 0.5% in the previous three months, while Japan’s GDP grew 0.5% in a rebound from a contraction of 1.1%.