BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Economic growth in Germany slowed significantly during the first quarter (Q1) of the year, according to official figures published on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office.
It showed that Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) increased modestly by 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter, down from 0.6-percent growth in Q4 2017.
Nevertheless, it still marked the 15th consecutive quarterly increase in German national output. "This is the longest growth phase since 1991", a statement by the Office read.
The limited expansion during first three months was largely driven by private consumption, corporate investment in machinery and other equipment, as well as a lasting boom in Germany's construction sector.
At the same time, government expenditure fell for the first time in nearly five years while imports and exports both decreased as well.
Most economists had anticipated that Germany's growth would hit a bump in Q1 due to an unusually severe flu season, public sector strikes, the timing of the national Easter holiday and cold weather in March.
Speaking to Xinhua, Thiess Petersen, senior economics expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation, warned that a recently-published fall in March orders could be a "first indicator" of weakening economic momentum in general.
Economists at the Allianz insurance group told press on Tuesday that they still expected a "relatively modest" performance at the start of the year to be a temporary phenomenon as growth gained pace again in Q2.
Although the "boom-phase appeared to be over", Uwe Burkert, chief economist at the LBBW bank, also anticipated that things would "look up again in the second quarter."
The federal government predicts that Germany will experience an annual increase in GDP of 2.3 percent in 2018 and 2.1 percent in 2019. The country achieved its highest growth rate in six years in 2017 (2.2 percent on a price-adjusted basis) thanks to continued export strength and more spendthrift domestic consumers.
However, Petersen noted that punitive import tariffs threatened by the U.S. government could yet force Berlin to "downgrade its expectations" for the year.
Similarly, Jens Weidmann, president of the German Central Bank (Bundesbank) cautioned on Tuesday that swelling trade conflicts constitutes a "real threat" to "growth and prosperity."
Economic tensions between Berlin and Washington have recently been heightened by the withdrawal of U.S President Donald Trump from the Iran nuclear accord. As a consequence, German firms operating in Iran face the prospect of hefty fines and loss of their access to U.S. capital and consumer markets.
