Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) remained flat in the fourth quarter of 2018, meaning the country has narrowly dodged a recession, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis).
GDP grew by 0.0 per cent compared to the third quarter, and 0.6 per cent compared the same quarter in 2017, Destatis said in a statement.
A decline of 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 had raised fears of a so-called technical recession, which is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
As a result, Destatis was also forced to revise down its overall 2018 GDP growth estimate from 1.5 per cent to 1.4 per cent, the weakest growth rate in five years and markedly slower than the previous year.
Germany is one of the world's largest exporters, so the health of its economy is seen as an indicator of the state of the global economy.
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