Luxembourg's economy expanded notably in the fourth quarter after shrinking in the preceding quarter, preliminary data released by the statistical office showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.6 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, reversing the 0.5 percent fall seen in the third quarter. In the second quarter, the economy had expanded 0.5 percent.

Final consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households increased 1.9 percent sequentially, while government consumption moved up 1.2 percent. Fixed capital formation was higher by 17.7 percent than in the three months ended September.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, the economy expanded 1.6 percent, following the previous quarter's 0.5 percent contraction, which was revised down form a negative growth of 0.1 percent.

In the whole of 2012, gross domestic product increased 0.3 percent from the previous year, data showed.

RTTNews