- Jeromin Zettelmeyer, the head of the economic policy section at the ministry
The German economy managed to escape a technical recession in the third quarter, as private consumption as well as trade propped up a modest growth, according to the nation's Economy Ministry. Germany's economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter and some economists expect another negative reading in the July-September period, a result which would put Europe's number one economy into a technical recession. Meanwhile, consumer price inflation in Germany remained intact, as on annual basis cost of living rose 0.8% in October, following the same result a month earlier. Measured month-on-month, inflation fell 0.3% in the reported month. A group of forecasters downgraded their outlook for the Euro bloc inflation and growth, reinforcing the view that the ECB should undertake more measures to support flagging economy. The 61 participants of the ECB survey see the region's inflation at 1.0% next year and 1.4% in 2016, compared to the earlier forecasts of 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively. They also expect the economic growth to slow to 1.2% next year, down from 1.5% earlier estimate. Meanwhile, the IMF wrote in its G20 report that there is more risk to its growth outlook for the currency bloc, stressing that the ECB should act in case prices continue to decline. Earlier in October the think-tank forecasted a 0.8% growth this year and 1.3% in 2015. However, now even these modest economic estimates seem to be over optimistic in light of recent poor macroeconomic data.
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