German recovery will gain momentum in third quarter - economy ministry

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy will pick up steam in the third quarter but business activity will cool again in the final three months of the year, the economy ministry said on Monday.

Europe's largest economy grew by 1.6% on the quarter from April to June, a weaker rebound than in many other European countries, as supply shortages for semiconductors and other intermediate goods held back the recovery from the pandemic.

"Overall, there will likely be a noticeable increase in economic output in the current third quarter," the economy ministry said in its monthly report, adding there were signs of a normalization of growth in the fourth quarter.

It added that the spread of new coronavirus mutations and their influence on the infection dynamics could cloud the economic outlook.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by Joseph Nasr)