FRANKFURT: Growth of the German economy, Europe’s biggest, picked up marginally in the second quarter of 2015, driven by the weaker euro and healthy consumer spending, official data showed on Friday.

German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.4 per cent in the period from April to June, up from 0.3pc in the first quarter, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a flash estimate.

Analysts had been projecting marginally stronger growth of 0.5pc for the second quarter.

“The German economy continued along its positive growth path,” the statisticians said.

“Positive impulses came primarily from foreign trade. Exports grew a lot faster than imports thanks to the weak euro, with goods exports in particular growing strongly.” But consumer spending and government spending also increased.

Weak investment, on the other hand, weighed on growth, Destatis added.

On a 12-month basis, GDP growth stood at 1.6pc in the second quarter compared with 1.2pc in the first quarter, it said.

“Overall, the data show that, despite the uncertainty surrounding Greece’s continued membership in the euro, the German economy managed to gain some momentum in the spring,” said BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar.

“The German economy is on a broad footing and is being driven by both domestic demand and positive foreign trade,” he said.

And given the continued low oil prices and economic recovery in the United States and the euro area, “the outlook for coming quarters remains positive,” Kipar noted.

ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski said that “neither Greece nor China were able to stop the German economy.”

A full breakdown of the different GDP components would only be published at the end of August.

“But available monthly data... indicate that growth was driven by exports and domestic consumption,” Brzeski said.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play