Jan. 25 (UPI) — The U.S. economy grew more by more than expected in the fourth quarter, according to a report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.
U.S. real gross domestic product rose 2.5% for 2023 and was up at an annual rate of 3.3% in the fourth quarter 2023.
“The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, state and local government spending, nonresidential fixed investment, federal government spending, private inventory investment, and residential fixed investment,” the BEA said in a statement.
Imports, which are a subtraction to GDP, increased in the fourth quarter. Consumer spending increases happened in both goods and services. While consumers spent more, the pace of that spending was not as robust as in the third quarter.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the results were “good news for American families and American workers” but asserted that “our work is not done.”
“I will continue to fight to lower costs — from implementing historic legislation to lower prescription drugs costs, health insurance premiums and clean energy costs, to taking on hidden junk fees that companies use to rip off consumers, to calling on large corporations to pass on to consumers the savings they have been seeing for months now,” Biden said.
While fourth-quarter results were lower compared to the third quarter, the 3.3% GDP growth in the fourth quarter beat the Wall Street expectation estimate of 2% GDP growth.
The GDP slowdown in the fourth quarter, according to the BEA, “primarily reflected slowdowns in private inventory investment, federal government spending, residential fixed investment, and consumer spending.”
According to the BEA’s second estimate, real GDP grew 5.2% in the third quarter of 2023. That’s up from the initial estimate of 4.9% for that quarter.
The BEA Thursday report said that PCE inflation for 2023, “increased 2.7%, compared with an increase of 5.9%” in 2022.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index increased 2.0%, the same change as the third quarter, according to the BEA.
