Germany’s sputtering economy unexpectedly saw gross domestic product (GDP) grow by 0.2% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office released on Wednesday. The figures showed government and private consumer spending in particular increased in the quarter. The economy had contracted slightly in the second quarter, and many economists had expected GDP to fall for the second quarter in a row and thus slide into a technical recession. But revised second-quarter figures released on Wednesday also showed the German economy s…