German GDP grows at fastest rate since 2011
Germany's economy expanded by the fastest pace since 2011 last year, with gross domestic product rising 1.9% year-on-year in inflation-adjusted terms. That's up from 1.7% in 2015 and beating the government's own forecast of 2016 growth of 1.8%. "The German economy has once again defied several deep hits. Despite the stock market crash in China, Brexit, Turkey, Trump and Italy, the economy performed its best growth year since 2011. Strong domestic demand has shielded the German economy against most external risks," said Carsten Brzeski, ING's chief economist for Germany. "The year 2017 will in our view look very much like 2016, only with a bit less of everything," he added. German stocks, however, traded lower on Thursday, pressured by a rise in the euro . The DAX 30 index dropped 0.5% to 11,592.02.
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