Germany saw a record budget surplus last year thanks to unbroken economic growth.

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said Friday that public treasuries received 36.6 billion euros ($45 billion) more than they spent in 2017. The figure was slightly less than had been forecast.

Strong export-driven growth has boosted tax revenue, with the country's gross domestic product rising a further 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared with the previous three months.

While German companies invested more in machinery and other equipment in the last quarter, there was a drop in investment in construction. Consumer spending, which had buoyed the economy through the year, remained at the same level as in the previous quarter.

In November, Destatis said that Europe's largest economy grew at a robust 2.2 per cent in 2017 to post its fastest expansion rate in six years and marking an eighth straight year of growth.

Economists have forecast continued strong growth for 2018, with the government recently saying that a 2.4-per-cent increase in GDP was expected this year.