German economy sees slowest growth for five years

Germany’s economy grew by 1.5% last year, its slowest rate since 2013, the latest official figures show.

Figures from the Federal Statistics Office showed Europe’s largest economy slowed sharply as the year wore on.

The economy actually shrank in the third quarter of the year, by 0.2%, with global trade disputes blamed for the contraction.

At the start of the year, the German economy had been expected to grow by 1.8%. Growth was 2.2% in 2017.

There were fears that Germany was at risk of following the third quarter with another quarter of negative growth, something that would have put the country into recession.

The statistics office has not released fourth-quarter figures yet, as it does not have enough data to give an accurate reading.

But initial calculations by independent economists suggest the economy grew by about 0.2% in the final three months of the year.