Mubasher: Germany’s economy expanded robustly last year, but remained slightly below expectations, data by the country’s federal statistics office showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product (GDP), for the largest economy in the eurozone, grew 2.2% in 2017, compared to a 1.9% gain in 2016. The data came below economists’ forecasts of a 2.3% rise for the full year.

Data also showed that Germany’s budget surplus represented 1.2% of GDP last year, indicating a continued strong trend for the country’s economy.

By 10:17 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair declined 0.07% to $1.1940.