Euro zone gross domestic product (GDP) grew by more than expected in the final three months of 2014, data from the European statistics agency Eurostat showed on Friday, as the German economy accelerated.

A preliminary estimate by the European Union's statistics office Eurostat showed that the economy of the 18 countries sharing the euro expanded 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the Oct-Dec period after a 0.2 percent rise in the previous three months.

Year-on-year, euro zone growth was 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter, from 0.8 percent in the third quarter, again higher than the expectation of a 0.8 percent rise.