Group of Twenty (G20) nations saw their cumulative GDP growth rate slowing to 0.7pc in the first quarter of 2022, according to provisional estimates released on Tuesday. The figure was down from the 1.3pc quarterly growth rate recorded in the last three-month period of last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report. “The slowdown in the G20 area in Q1 2022 mainly reflects weaker performance in the United States, where GDP contracted by 0.4pc quarter-on-quarter after rising by 1.7pc in Q4 2021,” the report said. “This was mainly due to changes in net trade and decreases in inventory investment and in government spending on COVID-19 assistance.” Quarterly expansion also slowed by more than 2 percentage points in Australia and Indonesia, while the Canadian, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Korean, Turkish, and British economies also faced flagging growth, though to a lesser extent, it added. Brazil, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and the EU enjoyed stronger growth in January-March 2022, compared to the previous October-December. Growth in Saudi Arabia was the highest among G20 economies with 2.6pc due to rises in oil activities and crude prices. In the OECD area, which comprises of 38 countries, including a dozen G20 countries, GDP growth is estimated to be 0.3pc in the first quarter of this year. The Turkish economy is estimated to have grown 1.2pc in the first quarter of 2022 from the previous quarter, according to provisional figures.