The German Federal Statistics Office released preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) data on Thursday. The German economy grew 1.5% in 2014, the best performance in three years.

The increase was driven by higher private consumption as employment and wages were higher and inflation was moderate.

Germany's exports increased 3.7% in 2014 versus 1.6% in the previous year, while imports rose 3.3% versus 3.1% gain in the previous year.