The skyscrapers of the Frankfurt skyline in the evening, with the Deutschherrn Bridge in the foreground.
Frank Rumpenhorst | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
The German economy contracted by 0.2% in 2024, in the country’s second consecutive yearly slowdown, data from statistics office Destatis showed Wednesday.
The drop was in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, according to LSEG data. The European Commission and a group of Germany’s leading economic institutes had both independently forecast a 0.1% dip in the German GDP in 2024.
Ruth Brand, president of the German statistics agency, said that “cyclical and structural pressures” hindered stronger economic development.
“These include increasing competition for the German export industry on key sales markets, high energy costs, an interest rate level that remains high, and an uncertain economic outlook,” she said in a statement.
Germany’s economy had already contracted by 0.3% in 2023.
Destatis on Wednesday also released an early first reading of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, based on currently available information. The economy fell by 0.1% in the three months to end of December, compared with the previous quarter, when adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar variations. The regular first reading of Germany’s GDP for the fourth quarter will be released later this month, Destatis noted.
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