Europe News Desk!! The Dutch economy grew by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, narrowly avoiding recession expected in the final months of last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Tuesday. Growth in the fourth quarter was broad-based, with the trade balance and domestic consumption the biggest contributors, Xinhua news agency reported. In the third quarter of 2022, the economy is set to shrink by 0.2 percent and there were fears that the country would end up in recession with another quarter of contraction. CBS said the 0.6 percent economic growth in the Netherlands was higher than neighboring European countries. In France and Belgium, economic growth was 0.1 percent over the same period, while in Germany, the largest economy in the European Union (EU), shrank by 0.2 percent. Citing preliminary data, CBS said the country’s annual GDP growth rate for 2022 was 4.5 percent, mainly due to higher domestic consumption and improving trade balance.
–IANS
World News Desk!!
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