Berlin The economy in Germany is no longer growing: in the second quarter, there was hardly any change in economic output compared to the first three months of the year – gross domestic product (GDP) also decreased by a minimum of 0.04 percent. That’s the result of a first estimate from the Federal Statistics Office on Friday.

However, statisticians correct the growth for the first quarter at the same time significantly upward. If the authority had earlier assumed an increase of 0.2 per cent, it has now been revised to 0.8 per cent.

Oliver Holtemöller, vice president of the Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), says of the current estimate: “It doesn’t seem like it at first glance, but the numbers are surprisingly positive.”