For years, Italy was the slowest growing economy in the G7, by some distance. But a revision to the country’s first-quarter GDP growth today has pushed it up the rankings. In terms of annualized growth in the first quarter of this year, the bottom spots now belong to the US and UK:
The UK recently revised down its first-quarter growth estimate, as the economy is hit by inflation, slow consumer spending, and uncertainty about Brexit and a suddenly unpredictable general election. The US has also fallen behind in the growth rankings thanks to sluggish consumer spending, while investors worry that president Trump will ever deliver on promised fiscal and tax reforms.
Canada’s economy, meanwhile, expanded at a brisk 3.7% pace in the first quarter, and even that disappointed some analysts expecting more. Japan, a perennial G7 bottom-dweller, also jumped in the rankings recently, and will probably rise even higher as buoyant business investment is expected to lead to an upward revision of first-quarter growth next week.