BERLIN (AP) — The German economy grew by 0.6% last year, its weakest performance in recent years, official data showed Wednesday.

The figure released by the Federal Statistical Office was in line with economists' forecast for gross domestic product in Europe's biggest economy. It compared with growth of 1.5% in 2018 and 2.5% in 2017.

The office didn't immediately break out an estimate for fourth-quarter growth. An official figure for the October-December period is due in mid-February.

The economy narrowly avoided a widely anticipated recession in the third quarter. It grew 0.1% in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, when it contracted by 0.2%. Strong domestic spending helped spark the modest growth.