Germany's economic recovery is gaining ground with the report released by German Federal Statistics Office on Friday show that Europe's biggest economy grew by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter during the third quarter of this year.
This comes after the nation emerged more swiftly than expected following the heavy slump due to international economic downturn. It also
shows that the slight upward trend of the economic recovery in the second quarter, when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation rose 0.4
percent quarter-on-quarter, continues.
The Wiesbaden-based office attributed the rise of the GDP in the third quarter to the growing volume of exports as well as "capital formation in
machinery and equipment and in construction."
"A large quarter-on-quarter increase was also recorded for imports which, among other things, led to a build-up in inventories," the office said.
When compared with a year earlier, however, the extent of the economic crisis is still obvious in the economic motor of the European Union (EU).
The price-adjusted GDP fell by 4.7 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period of 2008. The decrease was somewhat smaller than in the second quarter of 2009 over the same quarter a year earlier, which stood at -7.0 percent.
The economic performance in the third quarter of 2009 was achieved by 40.4 million persons in employment, which was a decrease of 81,000 persons
or 0.2 percent over a year earlier, said the office.