By Carsten Brzeski, Chief Economist ING Germany
Consumption and construction saved the economy from a technical recession in the third quarter
The second estimate of 3Q GDP growth confirmed that the German economy had indeed avoided a technical recession at the last minute. GDP growth came in at 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, from -0.2% QoQ in the second quarter. On the year, the economy grew by 0.5% (calendar adjusted) in the third quarter. What is new are the GDP components. Third quarter growth was driven by strong private (+0.4% QoQ) and public (+0.8% QoQ) consumption. Activity in