In the third quarter, the German economy declined for the first time since 2015. Global trade conflicts have adversely affected exports, the traditional growth mechanism of Europe's largest economy, causing concern that stable growth over the past decade has not been sustainable today.
The Federal Statistical Office reported that in the third quarter, GDP declined by 0.2 percent compared to the previous year, the economy grew by 1.1 percent year-on-year, while analysts expected 1.3 percent. "A small decline in GDP compared with the previous quarter was mainly due to a decline in foreign trade. Preliminary estimates show that exports declined in the third quarter, but there were more imports than in the second," the Office noted.
The fall in GDP was recorded for the first time after the first quarter of 2015. At the same time, the government does not consider what is happening as a cause for concern, explaining the decline in temporary difficulties in the automotive sector caused by the introduction of new pollution standards, known as WLTP. "Germany has no economic problems, but rather there are problems in the automotive industry. Due to the new rules for car certification, production should be significantly reduced, which will cause damage to other sectors of the economy," said Andreas Scheuerle from DekaBank.
However, the ZEW Research Institute believes that the German economy will not be able to recover quickly after a recession in the third quarter. Including due to growing concerns about the negative impact of global trade conflicts and the UK exit from the EU.
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