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Strong exports and solid construction activity helped the German economy grow 0.3%, better than expected, in Q4 of last year, but tightening isolation measures in the country and abroad clouded the prospects for Europe’s largest economy.
The data released by the Federal Statistics Office today, Wednesday, represents an upward revision to an earlier estimate of 0.1% growth over the past quarter.
The office also revised up the GDP figure for the whole year of 2020 to -4.9% from -5.0%.
After adjusting in the light of calendar factors, the German economy shrank 5.3% last year, which is a much smaller contraction compared to many European countries, supported by a strong financial response to the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The office said generous debt-financed spending caused a total deficit in the state budget of 139.6 billion euros, or 4.2% of GDP in 2020, the first since 2011 and the second-highest since German reunification.
