Germany and France endure gloomy stats
GERMANY’S exports fell in June, official statistics showed yesterday, though imports fell even faster, expanding the trade deficit.
Industrial output also slid 0.9 per cent, after rising 1.9 per cent in May.
The patchy data didn’t deter ratings agency Fitch from affirming its AAA rating with a stable outlook.
And one of the founding fathers of the euro, former European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing, said Germany will fare better if it remains in the single currency – though he conceded other Eurozone members could pull out.
Across the border, the Banque de France warned that France could suffer a shallow recession, with output likely to contract in the third quarter after falling 0.1 per cent in the first three months. The country’s trade deficit widened from €5.5 (£4.3bn) to €6.0bn in June.
Spain also endured a raft of troubling statistics, with its industrial output tanking 6.3 per cent in May – its tenth straight month of decline.