Germany GDP Grows 0.2% in Third Quarter, Beating Forecasts: Consumption Edges Up as Investment Falls and Export Momentum Fades
Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) published its preliminary estimate for third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on October 30: GDP rose 0.2% from the previous quarter after adjustment for price, seasonal and calendar effects, slightly beating market expectations. GDP had risen 0.4% in the first quarter and 0.3% in the second, so Europe's largest economy has now expanded for three straight quarters, though the pace has slowed each quarter.
Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, third-quarter GDP rose 1.3% in price-adjusted terms and 1.2% after adjustment for both price and calendar effects; GDP at current prices totalled 1,188.63 billion euros, up 4.6% year on year.
The demand picture was mixed. Destatis said final consumption expenditure increased slightly from the previous quarter after adjustment, with household and government consumption the main support for growth. By contrast, the provisional figures point to a decline in capital formation, leaving business investment weak.
The very dynamic export growth seen in the first half of the year also slowed noticeably in the third quarter, Destatis said, a loss of momentum for an export-led economy facing high energy prices and uncertain external demand.
Destatis confirmed that the previously published quarterly figures for the first and second quarters were unchanged after review; detailed third-quarter results will be released on November 25. According to Reuters, analysts polled by the agency had expected quarterly growth of 0.1%. Germany's national flash inflation reading for October is due later on Friday, after state-level data published in the morning showed inflation easing in most major states. The full release is available from Destatis, GDP in the third quarter of 2026, press release No. 381.
Related: Euro Area GDP Grows 0.4% in Third Quarter, Beating Forecasts
Related: Spain GDP Grows 0.6% in Third Quarter: Annual Rate Rises to 2.7%
Related: Italy GDP Flat in Third Quarter: Annual Growth Slows to 0.8%
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：德国 Frankfurt am Main 的天际线与 Flößerbrücke 桥（资料图）。Dr. Thomas Liptak 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Frankfurt am Main skyline with the Flößerbrücke bridge in Germany (file photo). Photo by Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
