German economy shrank 0.2% in Q4, worse than expected

BERLIN (AP) — Official figures show that Germany’s economy shrank by 0.2% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period. The performance by Europe’s biggest economy was worse than expected. The Federal Statistical Office said Monday that gross domestic product shrank for the first time since the first quarter of 2021 largely because of a decline in consumer spending, which had supported the economy in the first nine months of 2022. The drop followed GDP growth of 0.5% in the third quarter and 0.1% in the second quarter. Monday’s reading prompted the statistics office to revise last year’s full-year growth figure down to 1.8% from the 1.9% it initially reported.