Economic slowdown in Europe: German GDP may have shrunk by -1%

Posted August 9, 2008

Weak German economic growth numbers worry Economists — and spell trouble for the euro.

Baltimore — (TFN): The German economy — still the engine of Europe — may have shrunk in the second quarter, according to early reports, and the outlook for industrial production isn’t lively. After a good start to 2008, Germany could slide into recession.
New figures on German industrial and export orders released this week suggest the engine of the EU economy has started to sputter. Fears of recession also rose after government officials warned this week about bad news from an upcoming second-quarter report, saying the German economy may have shrunk by around one percent.

The overall picture shows a Europe in the doldrums. German factory orders were down by 2.9 percent in June from May, and orders from abroad for German goods plunged by 5.1 percent. Production at German factories rose by 0.2 percent in June — less than expected — encouraging talk of a Europe-wide recession. Germany accounts for about a third of euro-zone output.

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