German economy in Q4 grows less than forecast, weighed down by trade

Frankfurt

GERMAN growth accelerated less than anticipated in the fourth quarter as strong fundamentals in Europe's largest economy were countered by increased uncertainty abroad.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.4 per cent in the three months through December, according to the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden, which had earlier predicted that the economy expanded about half a per cent. The rate is below the 0.5 per cent forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The figure for the third quarter was revised lower to 0.1 per cent.

With annual growth of 1.9 per cent last year, Germany has driven Europe's slow but steady recovery, aided by a weak euro, cheap oil and the European Central Bank's stimulus policies. While those tailwinds boosted consumer spending and supporte…