German economy shrinks 2.1pc in late 2008

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FRANKFURT, Feb 25, (AFP): The German economy, Europe's biggest, shrank by 2.1 per cent in late 2008, its largest contraction since the country was reunited in 1990, official data confirmed today.

The fourth-quarter drop from the previous three-month period marked the third straight quarter of economic decline and suggested that Germany was in the midst of its worst recession since World War II.

Confirming figures first released on February 13, the Destatis statistics service said that "the German economy declined markedly in the fourth quarter of 2008."