Germany hails growth

THE German economy has dodged recession despite war in Ukraine.

The European powerhouse grew 0.2pc quarteron-quarter in the first three months of 2022, according to official data, after a 0.3pc decline at the end of 2021.

It came despite rising inflation and supply chain troubles that threatened to derail Germany’s key manufacturing sector. While household and government spending was mostly at the same level as in the previous quarter and exports were down, investment boosted the economy.

Georg Thiel, statistics office president, said: ‘Despite difficult global economic conditions, the German economy started the year with slight growth.’