German economy grows moderately in last quarter of 2016

Germany's Federal Statistics Office says the country's economy continued its moderate growth at the end of last year, thanks largely to household and government spending.

The figures released Tuesday show that gross domestic product rose by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. The statistical office had offered a rough estimate last month of half a percent.

In the third quarter, the German economy, Europe's biggest, grew by 0.1 percent.

For the year as a whole, the country saw growth of 1.9 percent, the office said, confirming the provisional annual GDP result released in January.