Germanys largest economy side-stepped a down-turn with a modest 0.2% rise (during Jul-Sep 24)‚ recovering from its previous three-month drop of 0.3%. This news brings relief to Olaf Scholz government‚ though the countrys growth stays flat-lined
The nations old success formula – cheap power and big export markets – doesnt work anymore; China has taken over as the worlds factory. Carsten Brzeski from ING points out: many companies face troubles‚ with Volkswagen planning to shut-down three local plants (first-ever closures in Germany) and cut lots of jobs
The wider euro-area showed better results growing 0.4% in third-quarter: France doubled its pace to 0.4% thanks to Olympic boost; Spain jumped 0.8% due to tourist-flows. ECBʼs decision to lower rates from 4% to 3.25% helped push activity up
Kamil Kovar at Moodys thinks the next rate-cut will be small: “todays numbers plus inflation bounce means no big december cut.“ Looking ahead tourist-driven growth might slow down and government spending will drop but 2025 looks better – with more money in peoples pockets lower rates and better world trade