BERLIN The German economy shrank slightly in the third quarter, data showed on Monday, as Europe's largest economy continues to be weighed down by weak purchasing power and higher interest rates.

Gross domestic product fell by 0.1% quarter on quarter in adjusted terms, the federal statistics office said.

A Reuters poll had forecast the economy to shrink by 0.3%.

The statistics office, however, revised the figure for the second quarter to a modest 0.1% expansion, from stagnation.

The figure for the first quarter was revised to stagnation, from a previous contraction that had led the economy into recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More)