FILE PHOTO: Aerial view of containers at a loading terminal in the port of Hamburg, Germany August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo
September 13, 2019
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German Economy Ministry said on Friday it did not currently expect Europe’s largest economy to experience a bigger downturn or a pronounced recession but added that indicators did not point to an economic turnaround yet either.
“The German economy is going through a weak phase,” the ministry said in its monthly report. “A bigger downturn or even a pronounced recession is not expected at the moment.”
The German economy contracted by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the April-June period and some weak data since then has fuelled concerns that the economy could slip into recession in the July-September period. Economists generally define a technical recession as at least two consecutive quarters of contraction.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Paul Carrel)
