Germany’s economy shrank by 0.3 percent in 2023’s final quarter and will grow by only that much this year, according to the newest forecast by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The group’s new projection has cut in half its estimate of Germany’s 2024 performance.
Although Germany’s economy contracted by 0.3 percent in 2023’s fourth quarter, the 20-country Eurozone’s GDP neither shrank nor grew during the period, according to figures reported by Eurostat, the zone’s statistics office.
In December, electric vehicle (EV) sales in Germany plummeted by half, year on year. The plunge led EVs’ Europe-wide sales to shrink for the first time since 2020.
Germany—battered by high interest rates, slowing global sales and continued high energy costs—Europe’s largest economy and the fourth largest one in the world... saw the heart of its manufacturing industry contract by 0.3 percent in 2023, according to the country’s National Statistics Office.
In November, Germany’s industrial production edged down 0.7 percent from October, a month in which output fell 0.3 percent from September.
A newly released poll found that 82 percent of Germans are unhappy with their governing coalition headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to an ARD-DeutschlandTrend poll.
In October, for the fifth consecutive month, Germany’s factories reduced their output. Production fell 0.4 percent below September’s, which fell 1.3 percent from August.
Surprising analysts, France’s economy contracted by 0.1 percent in this year’s third quarter, the national statistics agency said after revising its estimate down from an initial 0.1-percent gain.
After flatlining in this year’s second quarter, Germany’s economy contracted 0.1 percent in the third. New data shows GDP continuing to decline, leading the country’s central bank to predict another three months of shrinkage.
German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd reported profits this year through September were almost 80 percent below those of last year over the same period, falling to €3.2 billion.