Final data from the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday confirmed that the German economy has staged an impressive come back in terms of economic growth in the first quarter of 2012, supported by exports and private consumption.
As estimated earlier, the gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, recovering from a 0.2 percent decline in the fourth quarter.
The statistical office said that positive contributions came mainly from exports. In the first quarter, exports of goods and services to foreign countries increased a price-adjusted 1.7 percent on a quarterly basis, while imports remained unchanged. Net exports contributed 0.9 percentage points to growth.
The price adjusted GDP was up 1.7 percent annually, faster than the 1.5 percent expansion recoded in the fourth quarter.
In calendar-adjusted terms, annual GDP growth slowed to 1.2 percent from 2 percent in three months through December.
Private consumption grew 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, while government spending rose 0.2 percent. This helped partly offset negative impact from gross fixed capital formation, which fell 1.1 percent on the fourth quarter of 2011.
Meanwhile, the decline in inventories deducted 0.4 percentage point from overall output growth. The drop in inventories was a clear warning signal for the growth in the coming quarters, reflecting weakening new orders, said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Bank NV.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts Germany to grow 1.2 percent in 2012 and 2 percent next year.
In its latest monthly report, the Finance Ministry said that the country's total tax revenue rose 4.4 percent annually in April. There was a 3.1 percent rise in revenue from joint taxes and a 9.1 percent rise in taxed accrued solely to the Federation.
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