German Economy Grows At Better Than Expected Rate

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published August 24, 2016 | 12:44 PM

FRANKFURT, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -24th Augst,2016) : Strong foreign trade and buoyant consumption drove Germany's economy, Europe's largest, to better-than-expected growth in the second quarter, Federal statistics office Destatis said on Wednesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 percent between April and June, adjusted for seasonal, Calendar and price effects -- twice as fast as analysts surveyed by Factset predicted.

However, the final figure, which confirmed a preliminary Destatis reading earlier in August, represented a slow-down from the unexpectedly strong 0.7-percent expansion in the first quarter.

"Compared with the previous quarter, the positive impulses above all came from foreign trade," Destatis said in a statement. According to preliminary estimates, exports of goods and services increased by 1.2 percent between April and June, while imports fell by 0.1 percent. Overall, the data showed "mixed signals" in the German economy. Households increased spending by 0.2 percent and the state by 0.6 percent compared with the previous quarter. But business investment in capital goods fell by 2.4 percent and in construction by 1.6 percent.