The German economy barely grew in the third quarter, the country's central bank said today, and warned that it sees a further rise in unemployment In its November monthly report, the Bundesbank said it estimates German GDP grew 0.3pc in the third quarter compared to the second quarter and by 0.5pc from a year earlier The sequential growth is the same rate as in the preceding two quarters, signalling that Europe's largest economy has failed to make any headway on the path to recovery.
"What is missing the most is the hope for an improvement, which has always been a prerequisite for stronger investments and employment," the Bundesbank said. This morning, Karstadtquelle, Germany's biggest department store operator, warned that 2002 earnings will drop by more than a third, and said a short-term revival in consumption is not expected. The central bank said that the economy moved "further along the path of measured growth" in the quarter, but remains "too weak" to assist the labour market. "Above all, it lacks the necessary prospects, without which a revitalisation of investment and employment, in our experience, will not get underway," it said. //www.fxcentre.com