AlHijjah 28, 1432, Nov 24, 2011, SPA -- The German economy grew by 0.5 per cent during the third quarter, powered ahead by a strong pickup in private consumer spending, dpa cited the nation's statistics office as saying Thursday. The detailed breakdown of the gross domestic product figures released earlier this month by the statistics office showed private consumption expanding by 0.8 per cent quarter on quarter during the three months to the end of September. This followed a steady fall in unemployment in Europe's biggest economy. The overall growth figures confirm the preliminary data released by the statistics office on November 15 with the nation's economy expanding by 2.5 per cent year on year during the third quarter. But this was lower than the upwardly revised 3-per-cent year-on-year growth rate reported during the three months ended June.
