German GDP fell by 0.3% in Q4 2023 compared to the third-quarter, and by 0.4% on the same quarter a year ago, data released by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) today confirmed.
"The German economy ended 2023 in negative territory. In the final quarter, declining investment had a dampening effect on economic activity, while consumption increased slightly," saidRuth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office.
In the first three quarters, GDP largely stagnated amidst a still challenging global economic environment. For the whole year of 2023, the most recent calculations have confirmed the year-on-year decline in economic performance of 0.3% (calendar adjusted: -0.1%).
The Euro's recent move higher against the US dollar has stalled today with further progress being kept in check by the 200-day simple moving average. While this technical indicator was broken yesterday, the pair closed below the longer-dated moving average. A confirmed break higher – a close and open above the 200-dsma – would see the 50-dsma and a cluster of recent highs on either side of 1.0900 come into focus. Support is seen at 1.0787 down to 1.0760.
The recent EUR/GBP pullback from the 0.8500 area has stalled with the 0.8580 zone proving difficult to breach. A break below the 0.8530 area could see the pair retest prior support around 0.8500again in the coming weeks.