Berlin – The German economy posted stronger-than-expected growth in the third quarter as consumer spending rebounded following the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

Gross domestic product in Europe, Europe’s largest economy, rose 0.4% from July to September, 0.1 percentage points higher than earlier forecasts, according to official figures released on Friday.

GDP is widely used as a measure of a country’s production of goods and services, but critics say it is a one-sided account of how the economy is doing. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development admits that GDP “is not sufficient to provide an adequate measure of the material well-being of people for whom alternative measures may be more appropriate”.

GDP is expected to decline Last month of the year and first three months of next year.

The OECD expects global economic growth to slow next year due to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.