German economy grows by 0.1 pct in Q3

Source: Xinhua | 2019-11-15

Gross domestic product (GDP) in Germany increased by 0.1 percent in the third quarter (Q3) compared to the previous quarter, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Thursday.
"The German economy seems to have come through the summer better than expected," said Claus Michelsen, head of the forecasting and economic department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
Positive contributions to German GDP in the third quarter had mainly come from consumption as both private households as well as government increased their expenditures, according to Destatis.
"There is no reason to say all-clear," said Joachim Lang, managing director of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), adding that "the economic outlook for the strongly export-oriented German industry remains bleak."
Although German exports rose, imports "remained roughly at the level" of the previous quarter when the economy shrank by 0.2 percent, Destatis found.
Destatis further reported that the GDP increase of 0.5 percent in the first quarter was by 0.1 percentage points higher than previously published.
Last week, the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE) stated in its annual report that the upswing had "come to an end, but a widespread and deep recession is still unlikely."
"The weak economic momentum is expected to persist into next year at least," the German economic experts noted. The GCEE forecasted real GDP growth of 0.5 percent for the current year in Germany and 0.9 percent for 2020.