Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced on the 22nd (local time) that the economic growth rate for the third quarter recorded 0.1% compared to the previous quarter. This is 0.1 percentage points lower than the preliminary figure (0.2%) announced at the end of last month.
The Statistical Office reported that exports of goods decreased by 2.4% compared to the previous quarter, while imports increased by 1.3%, resulting in mixed outcomes in foreign trade. Additionally, consumption expenditure, including government and private sectors, increased by 0.3%, but investment, mainly in construction and equipment, decreased by 0.2%.
Germany's economic growth rate has stagnated, recording -0.1% last year, 0.2% in the first quarter of this year, and -0.3% in the second quarter. The economic newspaper Handelsblatt stated, "The increase in government spending in the third quarter barely pulled the economy out of recession, but exports noticeably declined," adding, "Uncertainty has also increased due to Donald Trump's election in the U.S. presidential election and the dissolution of the German coalition government."
The German government forecasted this year's economic growth rate at -0.2% and 1.1% for next year. The German Council of Economic Experts, a federal advisory body, recently revised this year's economic growth forecast downward from 0.2% to -0.1%, and next year's from 0.9% to 0.4%. With the possibility of trade disputes between the United States and the European Union (EU) arising from Trump's re-election, investment banks such as Goldman Sachs have also consecutively lowered Germany's economic growth forecasts for next year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
