Lates News

At the end of last year, the US economic growth was lower than expected, dragged down by the record government shutdown, weak consumer spending, and soft trade. According to the preliminary estimate released by the US government on Friday, the annualized growth rate of the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjusted for inflation was 1.4%, lower than the previous quarter's 4.4%. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the overall economic growth rate last year was 2.2%. The lackluster economic performance fell below all expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, as the US government was shut down for nearly half of the three-month period. The Bureau of Economic Analysis stated that the government shutdown led to a drop in GDP by about 1 percentage point. Despite the slowdown in growth at the end of the year, these data still put an end to a strong year for the US economy. The US economy shrank in the first quarter due to a surge in imports before tariffs took effect, but then achieved one of the strongest growth rates in years. This turnaround was benefited by Trump abandoning his strictest tariff measures and the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, which drove the stock market to new highs and allowed wealthy Americans to continue consuming.