German exports drives Q2 growth: data

[FRANKFURT] Growth of the German economy, Europe's biggest, picked up marginally in the second quarter of 2015, driven primarily by robust exports, official data showed on Tuesday.

German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.4 per cent in the period from April to June, up from 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, the federal statistics office Destatis said, confirming a flash estimate released earlier this month.

"Positive impulses came primarily from foreign trade," the statisticians said in a statement.

Exports were up 2.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and imports rose by 0.8 per cent, which meant the resulting trade surplus - the difference between exports and imports - added 0.7 percentage point to growth, Destatis calculated.

That was "the biggest growth engine in the second quarter," it said.

On the side of domestic demand, the signals were more mixed.

While private households marginally increased spending by 0.2 per cent and public sector spending rose by 0.3 per cent, investment in plant and equipment declined by 0.4 per cent.

"All in all, domestic demand decreased slightly in the second quarter, knocking 0.3 percentage point off the overall growth rate," Destatis said.

AFP