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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| German economy now in recession | German economy now in recession |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that the country's economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter. | Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that the country's economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter. |
| This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter. | This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter. |
| The fall in economic output was greater than the 0.2% fall that many analysts had expected. | The fall in economic output was greater than the 0.2% fall that many analysts had expected. |
| Last week, official figures showed that German industrial output fell 3.6% in September compared with August. | |
| "A negative effect on gross domestic product came from foreign trade, with a strong increase in imports and weakening exports," the Federal Statistics Office said. | "A negative effect on gross domestic product came from foreign trade, with a strong increase in imports and weakening exports," the Federal Statistics Office said. |
| The last time that the German economy was in recession was the first half of 2003. | The last time that the German economy was in recession was the first half of 2003. |
| "This confirms the German economy is in a marked slump," said Klaus Schruefer at SEB. "We will definitely get a further contraction in the fourth quarter, probably of a similar order," he added. | |
| Worse to come | |
| Such a pessimistic outlook was echoed by Sebastian Wanke at Dekabank: "There won't be an improvement in the fourth quarter. The situation will only get worse." | |
| Such gloomy predictions are based on the glut of recent indicators showing a slowdown in the German economy. | |
| Orders for goods produced by the world's largest exporter fell 8% between August and September, according to the economy ministry in Berlin. Orders from outside Europe fell 11.4%, while domestic orders dropped 4.3%. | |
| "Anecdotal evidence and leading indicators are scary," said Carsten Brzeski at ING Financial Markets. |