GDP revised lower to 2.2% in fourth quarter
The U.S. economy grew slightly slower in the fourth quarter than previously thought, with the gross domestic product lowering to 2.2 percent in a second reading on Thursday.
That’s marked down from the initial reading of 2.6 percent, according to data released by Bureau of Economic Analysis, largely because of a slowdown in consumer spending (which lowered to 2.5 percent from 2.8 percent.)
Despite the downward revision, however, GDP for the entirety of 2018 remained at 2.9 percent (compared to 2.2 percent in 2017), narrowly missing the Trump administration's goal of 3 percent growth for the year. That’s essentially the same annual growth as in 2015, which was the fastest pace since 2005.
The BEA generally provides three estimates of the GDP for each quarter; however, they will only provide two readings this quarter.
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In the July-September period, the U.S. economy grew by 3.4 percent.