The German economy continued to expand strongly in the third quarter, buoyed by solid industrial growth and investment, the Bundesbank said on Monday.
Europe's largest economy grew by 0.9 percent in the second quarter, its best performance in over five years, and the German central bank said the upward trend continued in the July-September period.
"All in all, available data show the German economy continued its swift upward path in the third quarter," the bank said in its monthly report for October. "Industry above all contributed to this positive overall result."
"In the summer, as in the second quarter, investment was probably the main driver of economic growth. In addition, real exports rose noticeably," it added.
Business service providers likely profited from the upswing, with the building sector probably also seeing stronger activity, the bank said. Both exports and imports both rose significantly, meaning the contribution to growth from net foreign trade was likely slight. Private consumption lacked verve, the bank added.
The Finance Ministry said on Friday the economy probably expanded at roughly the same rate in the third quarter as in the April-June period.
The government has revised up its growth forecasts for this year and next and now expects the economy to expand by 2.3 percent in 2006 and 1.4 percent in 2007.
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