German economy in recession: No recovery expected by year-end
The German economy has struggled to recover since the pandemic period in 2019. The German economy, which contracted in the third quarter of this year, is also seeing a decline in export figures. Experts state that no recovery is expected before the end of the year.
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The country's GDP fell by 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
The main reason for the German economy's contraction in the third quarter was that high inflation and interest rates slowed down private consumption.
Germany's exports also showed a sharp decline in September. According to the Federal Statistical Office, exports fell by 2.4 percent compared to the previous month, dropping to 126.5 billion euros.
Experts say that foreign trade does not appear to be becoming the necessary economic driving force for the German economy anytime soon.
The sharp rise in interest rates to combat inflation in many industrialized countries has made financing for the purchase of "Made in Germany" products significantly more expensive.
On October 11, the government updated its official growth forecast for this year, previously announced as 0.4 percent, to minus 0.4 percent due to the stagnation in the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had lowered its growth forecast for Germany for this year from minus 0.3 percent to minus 0.5 percent, reporting that it would be the only developed country to shrink this year.