German Economy Stagnates On Weaker Exports; Unemployment Falls

(RTTNews) - The German economy stagnated in the third quarter, narrowly dodging a recession as higher U.S. tariffs damped exports and the optimism about the fiscal stimulus faded, while unemployment logged an unexpected moderate fall.

Gross domestic product remained unchanged, as expected, following a revised decline of 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the preliminary estimate from Destatis revealed on Thursday.

Destatis said the investment in equipment developed positively, while exports declined from the prior quarter.

On a yearly basis, calendar-adjusted GDP logged a steady growth of 0.3 percent in the third quarter. Price-adjusted GDP also climbed 0.3 percent but reversed the 0.1 percent fall seen in the previous quarter.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski observed that while other eurozone countries showed surprisingly strong growth, the German economy continues to lag behind.

The country remains stuck in stagnation and only banking on fiscal stimulus to come to the rescue gets increasingly risky, he noted.

"…to return as a real powerhouse, Germany quickly needs a coherent, longer-term strategy and less wishful thinking with full pockets," said Brzeski.

Another data from the Federal Employment Agency showed that Germany's unemployment dropped unexpectedly but the overall jobless rate remained unchanged in October.

The number of people out of work decreased 1,000 from the prior month, confounding expectations for an increase of 8,000. This followed an increase of 13,000 in September.

The jobless rate held steady at 6.3 percent in October, as expected.

Employment growth remains weak and demand for new employees is low, Federal Employment Agency Chairwoman Andrea Nahles said. Overall, the autumn recovery has been lackluster so far, Nahles added.