Fourth Quarter GDP Revsied Higher to 3.1%
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The U.S. economy grew at a modestly faster pace than previously reported in the fourth quarter, as inventory building and business investment boosted activity, but oil prices will likely limit growth in 2011.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent for the final three months of 2010. The final reading for the fourth quarter was upwardly revised from a previously reported 2.8 percent rise.
In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.6 percent.
The quarterly expansion was the best since the first quarter of last year, and was boosted by a 4 percent increase in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of overall economic activity.
Economists estimate that the GDP will need to grow around 5 percent for a full year to lower the current unemployment rate of 8.9 percent by just one percentage point.
Residential construction grew at a rate of 3.3 percent in the period, following a drop of 27.3 percent in the third quarter. Government spending shrank 1.7 percent in the quarter.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent for the final three months of 2010. The final reading for the fourth quarter was upwardly revised from a previously reported 2.8 percent rise.
In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.6 percent.
The quarterly expansion was the best since the first quarter of last year, and was boosted by a 4 percent increase in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of overall economic activity.
Economists estimate that the GDP will need to grow around 5 percent for a full year to lower the current unemployment rate of 8.9 percent by just one percentage point.
Residential construction grew at a rate of 3.3 percent in the period, following a drop of 27.3 percent in the third quarter. Government spending shrank 1.7 percent in the quarter.
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