GDP fell 0.1% in the 3rd quarter.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/30/business/germany-economy-q3-gdp/index.html
Economists say the picture is unlikely to improve soon, as the country’s vast manufacturing sector grapples with weak Chinese demand, high energy costs and painful interest rate hikes. Companies in the sector are shedding jobs at the fastest rate in three years, as new orders decline and confidence remains “deeply negative,” according to survey data for October published last week.
“Germany’s economy is now firmly stuck in the mud,” Vistesen said, noting that it was doubtful the economy would recover in the fourth quarter. “Risks are tilted to the downside for the start of 2024,” he added.
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As described above, high energy costs are part of the problem. The finance minister says they should keep the coal-fired power plants running, instead of shutting them down as planned.
Germany’s finance minister Christian Lindner has rejected a coal phase out by 2030 if the country lacks affordable energy, newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported. “As long as it is not clear that energy will be available and affordable, we should end the dreams of phasing out coal power in 2030,” the leader of the pro-business Free Democrats told the newspaper in an interview. “This date does nothing for the climate anyway as, due to European rules, the CO2 emissions saved in Germany are allowed to accrue additionally in Poland, for example,” he added.
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It might be a cold winter, so…
- Pete