German and French economic growth at the end of 2013 exceeded expectations, underpinned by investment and foreign demand, official figures revealed Friday. The data bodes well for the larger euro currency bloc that is struggling to see a stable expansion.
According to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office, German economic growth accelerated marginally to 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter from a quarter ago. The growth exceeded expectations for 0.3 percent growth.
Elsewhere, the French economy expanded 0.3 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter after stagnating in the third quarter. The growth figure was marginally above the 0.3 percent forecast by economists. The third quarter GDP figure was upgraded from 0.1 percent fall.
The report revealed that positive contributions to German GDP were came mainly from foreign trade. The increase in exports of goods and services was substantially higher than that of imports.
Meanwhile, government expenditure remained at the level of the previous quarter. At the same time, household final consumption expenditure was slightly lower.
Fixed capital formation also improved, with investment in machinery and equipment as well as in construction increasing notably. However, inventories were considerably reduced, which slowed down economic growth, the report showed.
The calendar-adjusted GDP for Germany advanced 1.4 percent year-on-year, more than double the 0.6 percent expansion seen in the third quarter and above the 1.3 percent growth forecast by economists.
The price-adjusted annual growth was 1.3 percent, up from the 1.1 percent increase in the third quarter and the 0.9 percent growth in the second quarter.
The expenditure-side breakdown of French GDP showed that both household and government spending accelerated in the fourth quarter, to 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, the statistical office Insee said.
Investment rose for the first time since the end of 2011, up 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter. At the same time, exports surged 1.2 percent, reversing the 1.6 percent drop a quarter ago. Meanwhile, imports growth decelerated to 0.5 percent from 0.8 percent.
Conversely, changes in inventories contributed a negative 0.3 points to GDP, after adding 0.6 points in the prior quarter.
The German economy expanded 0.4 percent for the whole year 2013, in line with the first estimate published in January. At the same time, French GDP rose 0.3 percent after a stagnation in 2012.
The German economy should gain further momentum, said ING Bank NV's economist Carsten Brzeski. This week, the government upgraded its growth outlook for 2014 to 1.8 percent from 1.7 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.