German Growth Slows Less Then Expected, France’s Growth Edges Higher

“German growth slowed less than forecast in the third quarter and the French economy unexpectedly expanded.

German gross domestic product climbed 0.2 percent from the second quarter, when it gained 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistics Office said in Wiesbaden today. Economists predicted a 0.1 percent increase, according to the median of 46 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. InFrance, GDP rose 0.2 percent in the quarter, beating economists’ median forecast of zero growth.

The better-than-expected reports from Europe’s two largest economies weren’t enough to prevent the euro area from slipping into recession. The 17-nation economy contracted 0.1 percent in the third quarter after shrinking 0.2 percent in the second, the European Union’s statistics office said today.

“This was probably the last reasonably solid quarterly figure from Germany for a while,” said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The steep fall in the leading indicators suggests that GDP will contract in the fourth quarter.”

The euro rose after Germany’s GDP release and traded at $1.2757 at 11:12 a.m. in Frankfurt, up 0.2 percent.”

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