The economy grew slower to end 2017 than previously thought.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday that it had revised gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter down to a 2.5 percent annual rate, in line with forecasters’ expectations. In its first estimate, the agency had estimated that growth was 2.6 percent. The downward revision mostly reflected a lower estimate of business investment in inventory, the agency said.
Growth had topped 3 percent in the second and third quarters of 2017, which were the first two full quarters of President Trump’s presidency. Trump has set a goal of sustained growth of more than 3 percent annually.
For now, though, GDP growth is expected to chug along at between 2 percent and 3 percent. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta projected Tuesday that growth for the first quarter of 2018 would come in at 2.6 percent.
Underlying growth, though, may be strong than the 2.5 percent number in Wednesday report suggests. The details of the report hinted that the private sector may be heating up. Total sales to private buyers grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the quarter, the strongest showing in years.
That number is telling because it reflects the strength of consumers and businesses, stripping out government and export sales.
For all of 2017, GDP growth clocked in at 2.3 percent, better than the 1.5 percent clip in 2016.
