from the Dallas Fed

— this post authored by Daniel Crowley

Recent data on global gross domestic product (GDP) growth point to a modest and broad-based increase in real economic activity. In the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Database of Global Economic Indicators (DGEI), world GDP growth (excluding the U.S.) was 3.5 percent in the second quarter on a year-over-year basis, up from 3.1 percent in the first quarter.[ 1]

Global GDP Growth Broad Based

Second quarter 2017 saw positive economic expansion among almost all trade partners. Real GDP grew faster in both advanced economies (excluding the U.S.) and emerging economies, continuing a trend seen since the beginning of 2016 (Chart 1). Canada posted the strongest growth among advanced economies, expanding 4.5 percent on an annualized quarter-over-quarter basis. This solid performance can be attributed to a rebound in commodity prices, benefiting Canada’s resource sector. The DGEI euro area grew 2.8 percent, with all nine countries showing increased economic activity. Japan’s GDP picked up in the second quarter from 1.2 percent to 2.5 percent. This marks Japan’s longest growth run in over a decade. The U.K. was the weakest performer at 1.2 percent, an increase from first quarter’s 0.85 percent growth.

The strongest performer among the emerging economies in the second quarter was China, with a 6.7 percent annualized quarter-over-quarter increase. This is slightly less than its first-quarter growth of 7.3 percent. Mexico’s GDP grew 2.3 percent, showing signs of stabilization. Growth in India slowed from 7.2 percent in the first quarter to 4.2 percent in the second as weakness in manufacturing and mining weighed on activity. Brazil continued to recover from the deepest recession in its history with a 1 percent growth rate. Russia, also emerging from a recession, grew 4.0 percent, up from the previous two quarters. South African GDP expanded 2.5 percent, its first increase since third quarter 2016.