The German and French economies unexpectedly grew in the second quarter as consumer and government spending rose, bringing an end to their worst recessions since World War II.
Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent from the first quarter in both countries, their statistics offices in Wiesbaden and Paris said. Economists predicted contractions of 0.2 percent in Germany and 0.3 percent in France, Bloomberg News surveys showed. The euro climbed more than half a cent to $1.4271.
The resumption of growth in the euro regionâs two largest economies makes it unlikely the European Central Bank will add to its stimulus measures. Global measures to revive growth have boosted demand for European exports, while government subsidies and lower interest rates are supporting spending at home. With unemployment rising, the recovery may be slow.
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Compared with the second quarter of 2008, the price-adjusted GDP product was down 7.1%. Upon adjustment for calendar variations, economic performance decreased 5.9% on a year earlier as the reference quarter had three working days less than the same period of the previous year.
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Household and government final consumption expenditureand also capital formation in construction exerted a positive impact compared with the previous quarter. As price-adjusted imports declined far more sharply than exports, the balance of exports and imports also had a positive effect on GDP growth. However, declining inventories had a negative effect on growth.
The current recalculations resulted in rates of change of the annual and quarterly GDP (unadjusted figures) which differ from the previously published results by up to 0.3 percentage points. The rates of change of the seasonally and calendar-adjusted quarterly results were revised by up to 0.3 percentage points, too.
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