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German Economy Contracts
The Wall Street Journal|January 16, 2025
Germany's economy contracted for a second year in a row in 2024, underlining the scale of the challenge that will face a new government after elections set for February, including the possibility of fresh tariffs on its exports to the U.S.
- ED FRANKL
German Economy Contracts

Economic output in Europe's largest economy sank 0.2% last year after it declined 0.3% in 2023, the first two-year contraction since 2003, the federal statistics agency said on Wednesday.

That performance contrasts with the U.S., where growth has been surprisingly rapid during the same period. But Germany also has lagged behind many of its European peers.

Increasing competition for German exports in key markets, high energy costs, interest rates that remained elevated, and an uncertain economic outlook stood in the way of economic growth in 2024, said the agency's president, Ruth Brand.

"There are many, many reasons holding back German growth," said Salomon Fiedler, an economist at Berenberg Bank. "Probably we are not going to go back to the growth rates we have seen in recent decades."

Germany's economy was a success story for a decade and a half, growing faster than its European peers as it equipped China's factories with machines and tools it made using cheap energy from Russia.

This story is from the January 16, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

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This story is from the January 16, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

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