BERLIN, 24th May, 2024 (WAM) -- Germany's economy expanded slightly in the first quarter thanks to increased construction sector activity and a rise in exports, government data showed on Friday, matching a preliminary estimate of 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter growth released last month.
German news agency DPA quoted Ruth Brand, president of the Federal Statistical Office, as saying in a statement, “After GDP fell at the end of 2023, the German economy started 2024 on a positive note.”
Hopes for Europe's biggest economy in the coming months are pinned chiefly on a pick-up in private consumption in light of higher wages and lower inflation.
The country's central bank said this week that it expected growth to once again increase modestly in the second quarter.