Instant View - German economy shrinks 0.6 percent in fourth quarter on weak exports

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the final quarter of 2012, its deepest contraction since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009 as exports slowed at the end of the year, seasonally-adjusted data showed on Thursday.

Preliminary Statistics Office data also showed Europe's largest economy still grew on the year, albeit at a meagre 0.1 percent, down from 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter.