OECD area registered 0.2-percent rise in GDP in the third quarter of 2012, unchanged from a quarter earlier, the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday.

The increase in GDP in the three months to September mirrored a "continuing diverging patterns across countries," the advisory agency said in a report.

Despite a challenging economic climate, the European Union's quarterly growth was 0.1 percent driven by an unexpected 0.2-percent growth of the French economy.

Germany, Europe's main powerhouse, reported slowing growth. It lost one percentage point to 0.2 percent while in Italy, the economy contracted by 0.2 percent compared to minus 0.7 percent during the second quarter.

Boosted by the London Olympic and Paralympic games, Britain's GDP rose by 1 percent after falling 0.4 percent in the second quarter, while it inched up to 0.5 percent in the United States and fell by 0.1 point percentage to 0.9 percent in Japan.

Xinhua