Private consumption, construction drive German Q1 growth

More investment: The Federal Statistics Office said consumer spending and construction investment had each contributed 0.2 percentage points to GDP in the January-March period. – Reuters

BERLIN: Strong private consumption and higher construction investment drove a 0.7% rise in German gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, more than offsetting the effects of weaker foreign trade, data showed.

The German government’s increased spending on refugees and the European Central Bank’s ultra-low interest rates were among factors singled out by analysts to explain the biggest quarterly expansion in two years for Europe’s largest economy.