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Domestic demand supports German growth: Destatis

Xinhua, May 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Domestic demand was the driving force behind a slight growth of German economy in the first quarter of 2015, while foreign trade made a negative contribution, said German statistical office Destatis on Friday.

When adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar variations, Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) increased quarterly by 0.3 percent in the first three months of 2015, said Destatis, confirming its preliminary calculations earlier this month.

It was much slower than in the last quarter of 2014 when Europe's biggest economy expanded by 0.7 percent.

According to Destatis, domestic demand was the driving force, contributing 0.5 percentage points to the growth. Household spending rose by 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, and government consumption increased by 0.7 percent.

Investment also made a positive contribution. Investment in machinery and equipment was up by 1.5 percent, and that in construction jumped 1.7 percent.

Foreign trade, however, dragged the growth as imports increased in a faster pace than exports. The balance of exports and imports subtracted 0.2 percentage points from the growth. Endit