Germany's economy accelerated in the 2013 fourth
quarter boosted by foreign trade, data from Destatis, the federal statistics
office, showed Tuesday. Destatis also confirmed that Germany achieved a small
budget surplus in 2013 for the second straight year.
The GDP growth report showed that the economy
grew by 0.4% in adjusted quarterly terms and 1.4% in adjusted annual terms,
confirming the data released earlier in the month.
In the second and third quarters of 2013, the
German economy had grown (by 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively), after a stagnation at
the beginning of the year. Regarding the year 2013 as a whole, the increase
amounted to 0.4% (calendar-adjusted: +0.5%).
In a quarter-on-quarter comparison (after
seasonal adjustment), positive contributions were made mainly by foreign trade.
According to provisional calculations, exports increased more considerably than
imports. Compared with the third quarter of 2013, exports of goods and services
were up 2.6%. Imports increased by not more than 0.6% in the same period.
Consequently, the balance of exports and imports contributed 1.1 percentage
points to GDP growth and was thus the key economic engine in the period under
review.
Finfacts:
Germany's 2013 current account at record high in value; Japan's
lowest since 1985
As regards domestic demand, different
developments were reported. Gross fixed capital formation both in machinery and
equipment and in construction rose markedly compared with the third quarter of
2013 (+1.4% each). However, inventories declined sharply, which slowed down
economic growth (–0.8 percentage points). Final consumption expenditure changed
only marginally. While government final consumption expenditure remained
unchanged at the level of the previous quarter, household final consumption
expenditure was slightly lower (–0.1%).
Compared with a year earlier, economic growth
accelerated in the course of 2013. The price-adjusted GDP rose 1.3% in the
fourth quarter of 2013 (calendar-adjusted: +1.4%), after +1.1% in the third
quarter (calendar-adjusted: +0.6%) and +0.9% in the second quarter
(calendar-adjusted: +0.5%).
Budget surplus
Destatis also reported today that net
lending of general government amounted to roughly €0.3bn in 2013 according to
updated results. Central government, state government, local government and
social security funds together achieved a slight financial surplus for the
second year in a row. When measured as a percentage of gross domestic product
(GDP) at current prices (€2,737.6bn,
the ratio of general government was +0.0%.
These are data based on the definitions of the European System of Accounts (
ESA)1995;
they are used to monitor the development of the budget situation in the EU
Member States.
Check
out our subscription service, Finfacts
Premium ,
at a low annual charge of €25
