Euro-Area Growth Accelerates on Fuel From German Surge: Economy

The euro-area economy picked up momentum at the end of last year, with Germany reasserting itself as the driver of growth, offsetting weakness in Greece and Italy.

Gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter after expanding 0.2 percent in the previous three months, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said Friday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted growth of 0.2 percent. The Greek economy unexpectedly shrank 0.2 percent.