Germany’s economy grew by the largest amount for 20 years in the second quarter of this year, up by more than 2%.
In the three months to the end of June, Germany’s GDP shot up by 2.2%, a figure never seen in a post-Berlin-Wall-coming-down unified Germany. This compares with analyst estimates of an increase of 1.3% and an upgraded figure for the previous quarter, from 0.2% to 0.5%.
This is a clear sign, according to the German statistics agency, that the country is starting to regain some of the export and manufacturing losses it saw last year. There is also evidence in the GDP figures that the German consumer is starting to spend more.
Elsewhere in Europe, France saw 0.6% growth between April and June, compared to 0.2% in the first quarter; Spanish GDP grew by 0.2%, up from 0.1% in Q1; Italy remained flat at 0.4%; the UK grew by 1.1%.
With figures due out later today for the eurozone as a whole, the initial forecast is growth of around 0.7%.
