Friday May 15, 08:59 AM
Germany reports record quarterly slump
FRANKFURT, (AFP) - Germany's economy had its worst quarter since records began almost 40 years ago, official figures revealed as the global recession hit the world's biggest exporter with full force.
Europe's biggest economy, accounting for a third of eurozone output, contracted by 3.8 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the final quarter of 2008, when it shrank 2.2 percent, the statistics office said.
Figures in France, meanwhile, showed the second largest eurozone economy entering recession in the first quarter, with statistics showing output falling 1.2 percent after a 1.5 percent drop in the last quarter of 2008.
Germany entered recession -- defined as two straight quarters of falling output -- in the third quarter of 2008.
The worse-than-expected German result -- economists had forecast a drop of 3.2 percent -- was "the biggest contraction since the calculation and publication of official quarterly statistics in 1970," the stats office said.
Compared to the first quarter of 2008, the picture is even bleaker, with Germany producing 6.7 percent less goods and services or, 6.9 percent when adjusted for calendar effects skewing the figures.
UniCredit Economist Alexander Koch said however that the "ugly" figures mark the low-point trough for Germany, with business sentiment there and in almost all other major economies bottoming out.
Germany is highly dependant on exports which have been badly hit by the global slump.
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