German growth slows in euro crisis

Germany’s economy slowed to 0.2 percent growth in the third quarter of 2012 as the eurozone crisis took its toll, final official data showed on Friday. Europe’s top economy grew by 0.2 percent from July to September compared to the previous three months, according to the federal statistics office Destatis confirming previous provisional figures. The data are adjusted for inflation and take into account seasonal and calendar effects. “The German economy is facing up to the European recession but with a rate of growth which is slowing,” Destatis said in a written statement. The latest figure compares to growth of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of the year followed by second-quarter growth of 0.3 percent. Exports helped drive the German economy, with an increase of 1.4 percent in the exports of goods and services, while imports grew by one percent in the third quarter, it said. On the domestic side, however, the signals were “mixed”, Destatis said noting that while public and private expenditure grew, investment in machinery and equipment fell. The German government currently expects growth of 0.8 percent for 2012 and one percent next year. Unlike most of its recession-wracked partners in the 17-nation eurozone, Germany has until now escaped the worst effects of the three-year crisis that has threatened to tear the bloc apart.