The German economy contracted by 0.6 per cent during the final three months of last year from the previous quarter due to the eurozone debt crisis, the statistics office said Thursday. This followed a 0.2-per-cent quarterly growth rate in the three months to the end of September. The fourth-quarter figure was also more than the 0.5-per-cent estimate released by the statistics office last month. But Germany is expected to avoid the recession gripping large parts of the eurozone, after key indicators showed the economy rebounding as it entered 2013, dpa reported.
