Germany’s economy shrank slightly in the third quarter of 2018, the first quarterly decline since early 2015, largely because of bottlenecks in getting new cars certified under tougher emissions tests.
The Federal Statistical Office reported Wednesday that the German economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the third quarter. The figures have been adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar variations.
The agency said exports were down and imports were up in the third quarter, meaning there was a net drag coming from trade. There were also mixed signals from domestic demand.
