The German economy grew just 0.3 percent in the first three months of the year, the national statistics office, Destatis, announced Tuesday while presenting its first estimate of first-quarter developments.

Economic expansion in Europe's powerhouse thus slowed to half the pace seen in the previous quarter; the final three months of 2017.

While leading research institutes had penciled in slower growth, the estimate fell short of their 0.4-percent expansion forecast for the beginning of 2018.

Destatis made a point of emphasizing that the 0.3-percent uptick in the first quarter marked the 15th consecutive rise and thus the longest steady economic upswing since 1991.

Germans still on a spending spree

First-quarter growth was driven mainly by private consumption, corporate investments in machinery and equipment and an ongoing boom in the building industry.

Despite the slower growth in the January-to-March period, the German government says it will stick to its forecast of 2.3-percent growth for the whole of 2018, adding that the dent reported by Destatis was attributable to a large number of strikes in the metalworking industry and a higher number of public holidays.

The president of the German central bank, Jens Weidmann, looked more alarmed about Germany's overall growth prospects, pointing to the potential impact of a number of simmering trade conflicts.

"[These conflicts] represent a large risk to economic growth and could affect GDP expansion and people's well-being in the medium term," he warned.

hg/jd (dpa, AFP)