German economic growth picked up in the second quarter of 2015, and the public finances of Europe’s economic powerhouse were firmly in the black in the first half, new data has shown, RTE reported. German gross domestic product expanded by 0.4% in the period from April to June, up from 0.3% in the first quarter, the federal statistics office Destatis said, confirming a flash estimate released earlier this month. At the same time, Destatis calculated that Germany’s finances were firmly in the black, with the federal, regional, municipal and welfare budgets running up a combined surplus of €21.1 billion ($24.4 billion) in the period from January to June. That is equivalent to 1.4% of GDP, Destatis said.
