2014第二季德法经济步履蹒跚

 

German GDP contracted by 0.2% in the three months to the end of June, figures show, after growing by 0.7% in the first quarter.

 

Germany's Federal Statistics Office said the economy was "losing momentum¹" after its trade balance had a negative effect on economic development.

 

And official figures show the French economy saw no growth in the quarter.

 

France has now seen two quarters of zero growth. The lack of growth was weaker than many economists³ had expected.

 

France's statistics agency, INSEE, said that GDP had "remained steady" in the second quarter.

 

It said that manufacturing output decreased again after a "high number of potential extra days off this quarter due to midweek public holidays."

 

French finance minister Michel Sapin said that France was unlikely to meet its deficit⁴ target for this year.

 

"The truth is that, as a direct consequence of sluggish⁵ growth and insufficient⁶ inflation, France will not meet its public deficit target this year despite a complete control of spending," Sapin wrote in newspaper Le Monde.

 

 

The German Federal Statistics Office said that extremely mild weather at the beginning of the year had an effect on growth.

 

Christian⁸ Schulz, senior economist² at Berenberg bank, said the contraction⁹ in the German economy was a "significant setback".

 

"It seems to be caused largely by weather," he said. "The mild winter this year means the usual spring recovery in construction didn't happen."

 

The crisis in Ukraine may also have had an impact on economic confidence in the country, he said.

 

"Putin has an impact on confidence, and thus, investment, and also a little bit on exports," Mr Schulz said.

 

While it is unlikely that economic sanctions on agricultural imports by Russia will have a direct effect on Germany in the third quarter, confidence may be knocked by instability in the region, he said.

 

France was suffering from a "long-term weakness" of lack of reform and underinvestment by business, he added.

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