WELLINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand's economy grew faster than forecast in the fourth quarter, dragging the economy out of recession, but the improvement is not expected to change the central bank's planned official cash rate cuts. Government data released on Thursday showed gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the December quarter from the prior quarter, better than analysts' expectations of a 0.4% increase and the central bank's forecast of 0.3%. The growth followed a revised 1.1% contraction in the third quarter.