German Economy Grows Unexpectedly in 3Q, Supported by Consumption -- Update
November 14 2019 - 3:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Martinez
Germany's economy grew in the third quarter on the back of
consumption, avoiding a forecast recession, according to a first
estimate published Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office.
Gross domestic product increased by an adjusted 0.1% from the
previous quarter, according to Destatis. This was better than
economists' expectations of a 0.1% contraction in The Wall Street
Journal's survey.
"The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that positive
contributions in the third quarter of 2019 mainly came from
consumption," Destatis said, citing an increase in household and
government consumption.
Exports rose, while imports remained roughly at the level of the
second quarter. Gross fixed capital formation went up in
construction in comparison with the previous quarter, while
decreasing in machinery and equipment.
The agency also revised its second-quarter data. Following the
revision, Germany's GDP decreased 0.2% in the second quarter of
2019, compared with a first estimate of a 0.1% decline.
GDP grew 0.5% on year in the third quarter on a calendar and
price-adjusted basis, Destatis said, in line with a Wall Street
Journal poll of economists.
In the third quarter, Germany employed 45.4 million people, an
increase of 0.8% compared with the same period in 2018.
Recent indicators have sent mixed signals on the German economy,
with improvements in manufacturing orders but weak data on
industrial production, which suffered its fifth consecutive
quarterly contraction.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 14, 2019 03:35 ET (08:35 GMT)
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