German economy grew by 0.2% in first quarter, skirting recession

BERLIN, April 30 (Reuters) - The German economy grew in the first quarter of the year thanks to consumption and investment, escaping a recession after contracting in the last quarter of last year, data showed on Wednesday. Gross domestic product rose in line with forecasts, by 0.2%, compared with the previous three-month period, preliminary data from the statistics office showed.

Sign up here. Germany had contracted in the final quarter of last year by 0.2%, reigniting recession fears.



A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Germany was the only member of the Group of Seven advanced economies that failed to grow for the last two years, and the tariffs announced by U.S.

President Donald Trump will deal a major blow - possibly putting it on track for a third year of recession for the first time in post-war German history. Reporting by Rachel More and Maria Martinez, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Matthias Williams Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Maria Martinez is a Reuters correspondent in Berlin covering German economics and the ministry of finance.

Maria previously worked at Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona covering European economics and at Bloomberg, Debtwire and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. She graduated with a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University as a Fulbright scholar..