Financial Associated Press, October 29 (Editor Niu Zhanlin)On Friday (October 28) local time, data released by the German Federal Statistical Office showed that Germany’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3% in the third quarter from the previous month, unexpectedly avoiding a recession. Economists had widely expected that Germany’s GDP in the third quarter would shrink by 0.2% from the previous quarter.
Compared with other EU countries, Germany’s inflation rate may exceed 10.4% in October, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said. The Bureau of Statistics will release details and final figures on November 11.
Since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, German energy prices have risen significantly and have had a significant impact on inflation rates. In October, German energy prices rose by 43.0% year-on-year.
Germany’s IFO economic institute warned that the full impact of inflation had not yet reached consumers, although its survey showed a slight decrease in the number of German companies planning to raise prices in October.
German inflation is likely to remain in double digits for some time, economists said, putting pressure on the European Central Bank to continue raising interest rates. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points for the second time in a row on Thursday, but signaled growing concerns about economic growth.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the ECB could raise interest rates further at future meetings, but she was also cautious about the deteriorating growth outlook for the euro zone economy. Leaders in France and Italy have both recently warned that raising interest rates by the European Central Bank could hurt the euro zone economy.
Thomas Theobald, an analyst at Germany’s Institute for Macroeconomics and Economic Situation (IMK), said: “It is unclear whether inflation has peaked, but the recent decline in natural gas prices has given some hope.”
The main factors dragging down the German economy include high energy prices, lower purchasing power of households caused by high inflation, unstable global trade situation and tight monetary policy by central banks.
The analysis pointed out that the German economy is only temporarily out of the recession, but due to factors such as energy shortages, the German economy is still in choppy waters.
On the same day, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a 45-minute speech to the German people through live TV. He called on the German people to prepare for tougher years.
Steinmeier said: “The days ahead will be even more difficult, even after this winter, it will be difficult to return to the previous state”, but Germany “has the ability to overcome the crisis”, he also stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation. In addition, he mentioned issues such as climate change and the food crisis.