Germany and Spain rebound as Eurozone continues to struggle
GERMAN exports soared over the summer, official data showed yesterday. And Spanish house prices are rising for the first time since the financial crisis struck.
Germany’s exports hit a record high of €101bn (£80.9bn) in July, up 8.5 per cent on the year.
At the same time imports edged up one per cent to €77.6bn.
As a result Germany has chalked up a record monthly trade surplus of €22.2bn, boosting the economy by an unprecedented amount.
And while Germany is a relatively strong economy, the more troubled Spain is showing new signs of getting back on its feet.
House prices rose 0.8 per cent in the 12 months to the second quarter.
Prices have been falling consistently for the last six years, hitting the country’s banks hard as they were heavily exposed to what had previously been a booming market. But prices are still down by 40 per cent from their 2008 peak.
However, Sentix’ index of Eurozone sentiment fell into negative territory for the first time, indicating a new recession is dawning for the region.