A crane lifts a shipping container at a terminal in Hamburg, Germany, on March 31.PHIL NOBLE/Reuters
Germany’s economy stagnated in the second quarter from the previous three months, showing no sign of recovery from a winter recession and cementing its position as one of the world’s weakest major economies.
The figure of zero growth for the second quarter was in line with a first estimate published in late July. Year on year, adjusted GDP contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter.
Quarter on quarter, economic activity had fallen by 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023. Two consecutive quarters of contraction fulfills the technical definition of a recession.
“Both the short-term and the longer-term outlook for Germany looks anything but rosy,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.
Weak purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books, a slowdown in the Chinese economy and the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades all point to weak economic activity in Germany going forward, Brzeski said.
Household consumption showed zero growth in the second quarter from the first and government spending rose by 0.1 per cent. Capital investment also grew modestly while exports fell 1.1 per cent, Friday’s data showed.
Pantheon Macroeconomics forecasts GDP will post a 0.2 per cent contraction in the third quarter, before a rebound of 0.4 per cent quarter on quarter in the last quarter of the year. That would mean that German GDP falls by 0.2 per cent year on year in 2023.
“If our forecasts for the rest of the big four eurozone economies are correct, this means Germany will be the worst performing among them,” said Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The Bundesbank expects economic output to remain largely unchanged in the third quarter, according to a monthly report published on Monday.
A resilient labour market, strong wage increases and declining inflation should boost private consumption, but industrial production will remain weak due to sluggish foreign demand, the report said.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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