-Carsten Brzeski, ING
The Eurozone's economic powerhouse has confirmed an economic deceleration in the second quarter of 2016, the second reading of the gross domestic product showed. The growth rate of gross domestic product reached 0.4% or an annualized rate of 1.7% during the second quarter of 2016, confirming the preliminary estimate published by German statistical authority Destatis earlier this August. It marks a significant slowdown from the first quarter, when the economy expanded at a quarterly clip of 0.7%, as the mild winter weather propelled construction. The outcome is in line with an earlier GDP flash estimate. Meanwhile, the continent's traditional exporting powerhouse saw outbound shipments rise 1.2 per cent in the second quarter, with imports slipping 0.1 per cent. Overall, net trade was the biggest single contributor to economic growth, adding 0.6 percentage points to GDP. In addition, domestic consumption, which has been powering the economy for the last 18 months, added 0.2 percentage points, while investment contributed negatively, deducting 0.4 percentage points from the GDP numbers.
However, in a separate news release, Destatis said that Germany registered a budget surplus of 1.2% of GDP in the first half of the year, but cautioned against drawing conclusions for the full year.
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