"The German economy is in a soft patch that it is going to overcome"
- Gerd Hassel, an economist at BHF Bank
German economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2011 as exports fell, announced the Federal Statistics Office on Friday. Exports dropped 0.8 per cent after increasing 2.6 per cent in the third quarter.
"The German economy is in a soft patch that it is going to overcome," said Gerd Hassel, an economist at BHF Bank in Frankfurt. "The fundamentals of the economy are different from countries like Spain and Italy. They're basically sound."
"The economy was driven into the red by the decline in exports, but this was weaker than expected," said Berenberg Bank's Christian Schulz. "Fewer exports to the euro zone were largely offset by stronger demand from non-EU countries."
"The fact imports declined only slightly, despite lesser fuel imports due to a milder winter, would suggest that domestic demand is still robust," he added.
© Dukascopy Bank