Economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter to a 1.4 percent annual rate, adjusted for inflation, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday in its final estimate of gross domestic product.
The final number, the third revision released by the Bureau, exceeded the expectations of private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg, which were for 1 percent.
Stronger consumer spending than previously measured drove the upward revision.
The 1.4 percent growth to end the year was slower than the 2 percent growth in the third quarter, which in turn was weaker than the 3.9 percent growth in the second quarter.
With Friday’s final numbers, growth for 2015 as a year was 2.4 percent, the same as in 2014.
Commerce is expected to slow for 2016. The Federal Reserve, in projections of its monetary policy committee released this month, sees GDP growing 2.2 percent in the year.
Within Friday’s numbers was a story that held throughout most of 2015: While slower growth in China and elsewhere held back U.S. growth, recovering strength domestically propelled the U.S. recovery forward, even if slowly.
Negative net exports subtracted 0.14 percentage points from the topline growth rate, a factor shaped by the stronger dollar, which has made U.S. goods more expensive for the rest of the world to buy. Meanwhile, private investment fell for the second straight quarter, led by investment in structures plunging 5 percent — likely influenced by the steep dropoff in oil production that has followed the collapse in oil prices.
Setting aside the effects of what’s happening internationally, commerce was stronger within the U.S. Sales to private-sector purchasers, a measure of activity that sets aside foreign and government spending, grew at a 2 percent clip, stronger than the overall 1.4 percent GDP number.
The GDP numbers are adjusted to smooth out regular seasonal variations.
