Spending key to German Q2 growth
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 08:20Official figures have confirmed that Germany has escaped the clutches of its worst recession in over 60 years.
Europe's biggest economy grow by 0.3% in the second quarter, its statistics office said, confirming an estimate made earlier this month. This marks the first time Germany has grown since the first quarter of 2008.
'The economic development in the second quarter of 2009 was supported by private and government expenditure. Positive impulses also came from construction,' the statistics office said.
But exports, the driving force of the German economy, were down 1.2% compared with the first quarter and imports slumped by 5.1%. Despite the broadly positive figures, analysts warned against any early celebrations, saying the boost in growth was mainly due to the government's two huge stimulus packages.
Despite the caution, the positive growth figures are the latest in a series of economic data that suggests Germany might bounce back relatively quickly from a deep and painful recession.
Last week, a survey showed that investor confidence was soaring and business confidence is also pointing to brighter times ahead. Industrial orders have also shown impressive growth in recent months.
