Germany runs up surplus of 1.1pc of GDP in first half

FRANKFURT, Sept 1 (AFP) : Germany achieved a surplus in its public finances in the first half of this year, even though growth stalled in the second quarter, official data showed on Monday.
The federal, regional and municipal budgets showed a combined surplus of 16.1 billion euros ($21.1 billion) in the period from January to June.
This was driven mainly by a "very favourable employment situation," the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.
Measured against overall gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.426 trillion euros, that represented a ratio of 1.1 per cent.
Under eurozone rules, member states are not allowed to run up deficit ratios of more than 3.0 per cent and are obliged to bring their public budgets into balance or then surplus in the long term.
This performance contrasts with that of France, with the second-biggest eurozone economy.