Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest, grew 0.2 percent in the first quarter of this year as a global recovery boosted demand for its high-value exports, the Federal Statistics Office said yesterday.
The Wiesbaden agency said GDP was also helped by a 0.3 percent drop in unemployment as the country’s emergence from recession strengthened.
According to preliminary figures, GDP was up 1.7 percent in the January-to-March period of this year when compared to the first quarter of last year.
The agency also revised upward its preliminary estimate of GDP in the fourth quarter of last year, to growth of 0.2 percent. Its preliminary estimate in February indicated the economy had not grown at all during the quarter.
“Although the upward trend for the German economy in the second and third quarter of 2009 slightly slowed down, it continued despite the relatively cold and long winter,” the agency said the revised figures showed.
Overall, however, the latest calculations showed GDP decreased by 4.9 percent last year compared with the previous year.
Germany went into recession in 2008 as demand for its exports dried up amid the global economic crisis.
After shrinking for four straight quarters, including a 3.5 percent slump in the first quarter of last year, the country technically emerged from recession with growth in the second quarter of last year.
Earlier this month, the government reported that German exports jumped by 10.7 percent on the month in March and nearly a quarter on the year.
German exports totaled 85.6 billion euros in March, the Federal Statistical Office said. In year-on-year terms, that was a 23.3 percent increase.
Meanwhile, France’s economy grew 0.1 percent in the first quarter of this year, the smallest rise in a year amid stagnant consumer spending, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by the state statistics agency.
Statistics agency Insee said France’s consumer spending was flat in the January-through-March period compared with the previous quarter.
Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent last month, largely on higher energy costs, Insee said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS