German economy unexpectedly expands in Q3

The German economy unexpectedly expanded in the third quarter, avoiding a technical recession, according to figures released by Destatis on Wednesday.

GDP grew by 0.2% in the three months to September, versus expectations for a 0.1% contraction. Destatis said growth was driven by private and public consumption.

However, the figure for the second-quarter was revised to show a 0.3% contraction, from a 0.1% contraction initially reported.

"As a result, although a technical recession was avoided, the German economy remains barely larger than it was at the start of the pandemic," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

He added: "All in all, today’s GDP data brings welcome relief to the battered German soul. However, it doesn't take away the fact that the economy remains stuck in stagnation. At least it is not falling into a severe recession. It's the small things that matter these days."

Separate data from Destatis showed the number of people out of work rose more than expected in October.

The number of unemployed rose 27,000 in seasonally-adjusted terms to 2.86m, versus expectations for a 15,000 increase.