German economy expands by 0.3% in Q4 2015: statistics office

[FRANKFURT] The German economy, Europe's biggest, grew by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, driven primarily by robust domestic demand, the federal statistics office Destatis said on Friday.

Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.3 per cent in the period from October to December, the same rate of growth as in the preceding three months, Destatis said in a statement.

"The economic situation in Germany was characterised by solid and continuous growth in 2015," Destatis said.

Following GDP growth of 0.4 per cent in both the first and second quarters, the economy grew by 0.3 per cent in both the third and fourth quarters.

That resulted in expansion of 1.7 per cent across the whole year, the statisticians said, confirming a preliminary estimate released last month.

"Positive impulses came primarily from domestic demand," Destatis said.

State spending increased sharply and private household was up modestly.

"On top of this, investments also developed positively, with construction investment increasing significantly compared with the third quarter," the statistics office said.

At the same time, foreign trade had dampening effect on growth due to lower exports, it added.

AFP