GDP growth
May 12, 2010
Europe's largest economy saw slight, 0.2 percent growth in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the last quarter of 2009, official statistics showed.
Analyst forecasts had predicted growth would remain stagnant.
The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden also revised 2009 figures for economic activity, saying it had expanded 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2009. That put full-year contraction lower than expected: 4.9 percent, down from an earlier-reported 5.0 percent.
The statisticians attributed the slow gain in momentum overall in Germany to an especially cold winter, which hampered construction activity.
Exports and investments in industrial equipment had nonetheless provided engines for growth, the report said. And data for industrial orders and production in March point to a solid rebound in that sector.
The government forecasts growth of 1.4 percent for 2010 overall.
jen/AFP/AP
Editor: Nancy Isenson