Company investments, a booming export market and strong consumer spending all helped the German economy post quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2017, according to preliminary figures released by the German Federal Statistics Office.

    GDP growth during the first three months of the year followed an increase of 0.4% in the final quarter of 2016. Bundesbank estimates that the German industry will likely profit from domestic and foreign demand in the April-June quarter, attributable, among other things, to confidence in the manufacturing sector. 

    According to the Munich-based economic institute, the mood in the German economy improved in April. Positive stimuli are also likely to come from private consumption, according to the Bundesbank. Consumers are in a buying mood due to the historically favorable situation on the labor market.