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Germany's economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period, official figures showed Monday. The performance by Europe's biggest economy was worse than expected. Gross domestic product shrank for the first time since the first quarter of 2021 largely because of a decline in consumer spending, which had supported the economy in the first nine months of 2022, the Federal Statistical Office said. The drop followed GDP growth of 0.5 per cent in the third quarter and 0.1 per cent in the second quarter. The statistics office said in mid-January, before it had full December economic data, that the economy appeared to have stagnated in the fourth quarter. Monday's announcement prompted it to revise last year's full-year growth figure down to 1.8 per cent from the 1.9 per cent it initially reported. Germany's annual inflation rate rolled back from a peak of 10.4 per cent in October to 8.6 per cent in December, but galloping prices remain a ma
The German government's panel of independent economic advisers forecast Wednesday that Europe's biggest economy will shrink by 0.2% next year. The five-member panel's report came after official figures late last month showed unexpected growth in the third quarter, thanks to private spending. But a weak winter, with gross domestic product declining in the last months of the year and in the first three months of next year, is still widely expected. Two consecutive quarters of negative growth is one technical definition of recession, but the 19-country euro area has a body that also uses a broader set of data including employment numbers and depth of the economic decline to determine when a recession occurs. The advisers' forecast of 1.7% growth this year and a decline of 0.2% in 2023 contrasts with a forecast at the end of March that German GDP would expand by 1.8% this year and 3.6% next year. It's still more optimistic than a forecast by the government itself a month ago, which ...
The German economy grew in the third quarter, an unexpectedly positive performance powered largely by private spending, official figures showed Friday. But the immediate outlook for Europe's biggest economy remained gloomy, with inflation rising again in October. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.3% in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said. That followed a slight increase of 0.1% in the second quarter. The German economy managed to hold its ground despite difficult framework conditions of the global economy, with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain interruptions, rising prices and the war in Ukraine, the statistics office said. The government said earlier this month that GDP was believed to have shrunk in the third quarter and was expected to decline again in the last three months of the year as well as the first three months of 2023 before beginning to recover. Two consecutive quarters of negative growth i
The German economy grew in the third quarter, an unexpectedly positive performance powered largely by private spending, official figures showed on Friday. Gross domestic product in Europe's biggest economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said. That followed a slight increase of 0.1 per cent in the second quarter. The German economy managed to hold its ground despite difficult framework conditions of the global economy, with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain interruptions, rising prices and the war in Ukraine, the statistics office said. The government said earlier this month that GDP was believed to have shrunk in the third quarter and was expected to decline again in the last three months of the year as well as the first three months of 2023 before beginning to recover. Two consecutive quarters of negative growth is one technical definition of recession. With energy prices high,