The German economy shrank by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the three months ending in December, according to preliminary data released by Germany’s statistics office Destatis on Thursday. The figure is adjusted for price, calendar and seasonal variations. Analysts polled by Reuters had been expecting the gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 0.1%. Household and government consumption expenditures increased, but exports were “significantly lower” than in the previous quarter, Destatis said. “After a year marked by economic and structural challenges, the German economy thus ended 2024 in negative territory,” it ... (full story)