Germany ‘bound for recession’ as economy set to contract again | Personal Finance | Finance newsbhunt

Germany is “bound” for a recession as GDP contracts by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2023, an analyst has said.

Justin Lowe, currency analyst at ForexLive, said: “No changes to the initial estimate and this confirms that the German economy is bound for a recession as Q4 growth is also set to contract, albeit perhaps less worse than anticipated in the months before this.”

Commenting on the Federal Statistical Office’s most recent report, Ruth Brand, president of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), said: “After the weak economic development seen in the first half of 2023, the German economy began the second half of the year with a slight drop in performance.”

Economic performance was virtually stagnant in the first two quarters of the year (first quarter: 0.0 percent, second quarter: +0.1 percent). Economists have been labelling Germany the “sick man of Europe”.

According to the report, final consumption expenditure was two percent lower compared with a year earlier. Here, persistently high prices continued to have a significant effect on food and beverages, restaurant and accommodation services and clothing.