Germany’s economy likely grew more significantly more in the second quarter than in the first, the finance ministry said yesterday, adding that the recovery should strengthen in the second half of the year.
In its monthly report, the ministry said the improved growth in Europe’s largest economy was partly due to a pickup in the construction sector in the second quarter after a slowdown over the winter because of harsh weather.
Increased momentum in the industrial sector was also likely to have contributed very positively to GDP in the second quarter. The economy grew 0.2 percent on the quarter in the first three months of the year.
OPTIMISM
“Given the upward trend in industrial demand and the optimistic mood among companies, the economic recovery should strengthen in the second half of the year,” the ministry said.
“The recent positive development, however, should not obscure the fact that with important indicators, pre-crisis levels have not yet been reached and production is still below-capacity,” the ministry said.
Germany emerged from its deepest post-war recession in the second quarter of last year, and recent indicators have pointed to a pickup in the pace of recovery.
German trade with the rest of the world surged in May, while industrial output jumped more than expected, data showed earlier this month.
The ministry said output was likely to continue rising over the coming months and Germany was benefiting in particular from demand for its capital goods, as demand worldwide and especially in emerging Asian countries picked up.
“The outlook for a further rise in exports is good,” the ministry said, adding that the rise in imports and domestic orders pointed to recovering domestic demand.
WEAK CONSUMPTION
Private consumption was likely to have remained weak in the second quarter, but will pick up in the course of the year due to a recovery in the labor market and tax relief for households introduced by the government at the start of this year, it said.
The ministry said it did not expect the labor market to deteriorate, given that unemployment was decreasing as the use of shorter working hours declined and economic indicators were positive. Unemployment fell last month fell to its lowest level since December 2008.
The ministry added that consumer prices were likely to develop “calmly” over the course of the year.
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