GDP grew at a 2.3% pace in the fourth quarter, less than expected

U.S. economic growth slowed a bit more than expected in the final three months of 2024, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced across the sprawling U.S. economy during the period, showed that the economy accelerated at a 2.3% annualized pace in the fourth quarter. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting an increase of 2.5%.

The report closes out 2024 on a somewhat downbeat note, though growth held reasonably solid. For the full year, GDP accelerated 2.8%, compared to 2.9% in 2023. Thursday’s release was the first of three estimates the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis will provide.

Growth held up largely on the backs of consumers who continued to spend briskly despite the ongoing burden of high prices on everything from homes to cars to eggs at the supermarket. While inflation is well off the boil from its mid-2022 40-year high, it remains a burden for households, particularly those on the lower end of the income scale.

Consumer spending rose at a robust 4.2% pace and, as usual, amounted to about two-thirds of all activity. Government spending also provided a boost, accelerating at a 3.2% level.

Trade was a drag on growth in the period, with imports, which subtract from the GDP calculation, off 0.8%. Exports also declined 0.8%.

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