German economic data belie virus gloom
Figures released by Germany’s Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday revealed that the country’s economy performed better than expected in November, raising hopes that Europe’s largest economy may be showing signs of having come through the storm of the novel coronavirus in better shape than forecast.
The country was still in partial lockdown at the time and retail sales had been expected to fall, but largely driven by online shopping and people investing in home improvements, they in fact went up by 1.9 percent. The year’s overall retail growth now is expected to be around 4 percent, an improvement on 2019’s total of 3.2 percent.
By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-01-08 09:36 Share CLOSE A vacant shop with a for rent sign is seen in the city center, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany, Jan 7, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]
Figures released by Germany s Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday revealed that the country s economy performed better than expected in November, raising hopes that Europe s largest economy may be showing signs of having come through the storm of the novel coronavirus in better shape than forecast.
The country was still in partial lockdown at the time and retail sales had been expected to fall, but largely driven by online shopping and people investing in home improvements, they in fact went up by 1.9 percent. The year s overall retail growth now is expected to be around 4 percent, an improvement on 2019 s total of 3.2 percent.