German gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6% in Q2, as expected

The German economy continues to grow. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) already reported in its first release 277/17 of 15 August 2017, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6% (after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment) in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter. Most recent calculations show that GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017 had been slightly larger (0.7%).

The quarter-on-quarter comparison following price, seasonal and calendar adjustment shows that, on the use side of the gross domestic product, positive contributions came from domestic demand. The final consumption expenditure of households rose considerably by 0.8% and government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.6% on the previous quarter. Capital formation, too, was again higher. Fixed capital formation in machinery and equipment increased by 1.2% and in construction by 0.9% on the first quarter of 2017. Overall, domestic uses increased markedly by one percent compared with the first three months of the year.

As regards foreign demand, there were mixed signals. According to provisional calculations, exports of goods and services were up 0.7% compared with the first quarter of 2017. However, imports increased more substantially (+1.7%) in the same period. Arithmetically, the balance of exports and imports thus had a downward effect of -0.3 percentage points on GDP growth.