GDP estimates: Germany avoids recession while France surprises calming Eurozone fears
Germany has avoided sliding into recession, as the economy grew 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, while France reported surprise growth of 0.3 per cent ahead of expectations.
The latest GDP estimates calm fears over the stagnating Eurozone economy and reverse the previous quarter’s trend when the German economy shrank and France became stagnant.
Germany also revised up its previous quarter estimates that the economy shrank 0.2 per cent, to a slightly better 0.1 per cent contraction, according to the the Federal Statistics Office.
Figures from Europe’s largest economy were expected to come in at 0.1 per cent, however some had predicted no growth in the period or further contraction which would have sent the country into recession. German consumer spending and a rise in exports halted the slide.
France’s 0.3 per cent rise was ahead of the 0.2 per cent consensus on growth and better than the zero per cent posted in the previous quarter. It’s the highest growth since the second quarter of 2013, giving a much-needed boost to troubled French leader Francois Hollande.
The numbers offer some relief about the Eurozone economy and offer some hope of a reversal of fortune, however small, to markets and for the Europe-wide GDP estimates due out shortly.