The government said today in an upgrade from its previous estimate that the U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.4% annual pace from October–December, according to the Associated Press. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 3.2% annual rate last quarter.
The Commerce Department’s revised measure of the nation’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — confirmed that the economy decelerated from its sizzling 4.9% rate of expansion in the July–September quarter; however, last quarter’s growth was still a solid performance, coming in the face of higher interest rates and powered by growing consumer spending, exports, and business investment in buildings and software. It marked the sixth straight quarter in which the economy has grown at an annual rate above 2%.
For all of 2023, the U.S. economy — the world’s biggest — grew 2.5%, up from 1.9% in 2022. In the current January–March quarter, the economy is believed to be growing at a 2.1% annual rate, according to a forecasting model issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Today’s report was the Commerce Department’s third and final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth. It will release its first estimate of January–March growth on April 25.
