Mubasher: The German economy shrank by a record 9.7% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 as consumer spending, company investments, and exports witnessed a sharp fall due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing official data.

The contraction was much more severe as compared to that during the financial crisis of 2007-2008, recording the steepest drop since Germany started to record quarterly calculations for gross domestic product (GDP) in 1970, according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis).

However, the figure is still better than an earlier estimate for the April-June period of -10.1%, initially reported in July.

Meanwhile, consumer spending fell by 10.9% in the three-month period, while capital investments declined by 19.6% and exports dropped by 20.3%.

Likewise, construction activity decreased by 4.2% during Q2-20.

On the other hand, state consumption grew by 1.5% on the back of the government’s coronavirus rescue programmes.

Earlier, the German government has slashed its GDP growth forecast for 2020 to a negative 6.3%.