Surprisingly, the German economy did not record growth in the fourth quarter of 2019 amid weak domestic consumption and lower government spending. This is indicated by the first reading of data, which again ignited fears of a coming recession.

At the same time, the German GDP growth is only 0.6% in 2019, well below its 1.5% figure for 2018, its lowest level since 2013.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) remains unchanged after a revised upward growth of 0.2% in the previous quarter. The expectations were for a slight increase of 0.1%.

Both private consumption and government spending marked a marked decline, with investment in equipment and machinery declining.

In turn, exports are also weakening slightly and imports are increasing, signaling that net trade has had a negative impact on the economy.

On an annual basis, the economy grew by a quarterly-adjusted 0.4% in the last quarter, after adjusting up 0.6% in the previous quarter. Values ​​meet expectations. On an unadjusted basis, the economy added 0.3%, a slowdown over revised upwards of 1.1% over the previous three months.

Europe’s largest economy is losing momentum amid a weakening industrial sector due to reduced exports and problems around the automotive sector.

The industrial sector is expected to stabilize in the coming months. According to the local officials, the country’s economy was going through a weak period, but the improvement in business sentiment is a good signal. However, the authorities consider that external risks to the economy have increased because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus, but it is still too early to say what the impact will be on China and its trading partners.