The Hague, Feb 15 (IANS): The Dutch economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, narrowly escaping a recession feared in the final months of last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said on Tuesday.

Growth in Q4 was broad-based, with the trade balance and household consumption making the largest contribution. In Q3 of 2022, the economy shrank 0.2 percent and there were fears that the country would end up in a recession with another quarter of contraction, Xinhua news agency reported.

Economic growth of 0.6 per cent in the Netherlands was higher than that in the neighboring European countries, the CBS said. In France and Belgium, economic growth was 0.1 per cent in the same period, while in Germany, the largest economy in the European Union (EU), the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent.

Citing preliminary figures, the CBS said that the country's annual GDP growth rate for 2022 was 4.5 per cent, mainly due to higher household consumption and to improvements in the trade balance.