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Skyscrapers on the Frankfurt skyline in the evening with the Deutschern Bridge in the foreground.
Frank Rumpenhorst | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Germany’s economy shrank by 0.2% in 2024, the second consecutive annual contraction, data from the statistics office Destatis showed on Wednesday.
According to LSEG data, the drop was in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters. The European Commission and a group of Leading economic institutes of Germany both independently predicted a 0.1% drop in German GDP in 2024.
Ruth Brand, president of Germany’s statistics agency, said “cyclical and structural pressures” were preventing stronger economic growth.
“These include increasing competition for the German export industry in key markets, high energy costs, interest rate levels that remain high and an uncertain economic outlook,” she said in a statement.
Germany’s economy was already decreased by 0.3% in 2023.
On Wednesday, Destatis also released an early first reading of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, based on currently available information. The economy shrank 0.1% in the three months to the end of December from the previous quarter, adjusting for price, seasonal and calendar fluctuations. Another first reading of German GDP for the fourth quarter will be released later this month, Destatis noted.
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