The Federal Statistics Office in Germany has confirmed a preliminary gross domestic product contraction of 0.1% quarter-on-quarter from April to June.
Exports fell harder than imports in the second quarter and construction investment was also falling.
“The details of the growth components show that the contraction was almost exclusively driven by weak exports,” said an economic commentator, adding that the GDP figures showed that not everything was bad.
“Some relief from trade could easily lead to a rebound towards the end of the year. Fiscal stimulus could boost confidence and improve structural growth in the years ahead.”