Germany’s economic growth for the third quarter of 2012 was 0.2 per cent, according to the latest statistics.
This follows growth of 0.3 per cent in the second quarter and 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, suggesting that its ability to isolate itself from the volatility on the eurozone is weakening.
Destatis, which is the federal statistics office of Germany, stated that most of the country’s growth came from foreign demand.
“That was the last good number from Germany for the time being,” Joerg Kraemer, Commerzbank’s chief economist, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
“The German economy will probably shrink somewhat in the fourth quarter, given that orders have been falling for the last year and the business climate, as measured by Ifo, has recently caved in.”
According to Peter Meister, an economist at BHF Bank in Frankfurt, while Germany is still largely bucking the trend, the fact that growth has slowly dwindled over the year does not give many people confidence.
That said, analysts are divided over whether Europe’s largest economy will contract or pull itself together and avoid slipping into recession.
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