From AP News:
The U.S. economy, hobbled by last fall’s 43-day government shutdown, advanced at an unexpectedly sluggish 0.7% annual rate from October through December, the Commerce Department reported Friday in a big downgrade of its initial estimate.
Growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — was down sharply from 4.4% in last year’s third quarter and 3.8% in the second. And the fourth-quarter number was half the government’s first estimate of 1.4%; economists had expected the revision to go the other way — and show stronger growth.
The report notes the following points:
• GDP Growth Rate: 2.1% for 2025, down from 2.2% initial estimate and previous years’ growth.
• Consumer Spending: Increased by 2% in Q4, slower than Q3 and initial estimate.
• Business Investment: Rose by 2.2% in Q4, driven by AI investments, but slower than previous quarter and initial estimate.
“Following two consecutive strong readings for the second and third quarters, the economy was expected to soften heading into year-end. It’s now increasingly clear that the economy not only slowed but stumbled into the finish line,” Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said in a commentary. “The government shutdown was certainly a major factor in the loss of momentum, but a sharp decline in consumption growth also played a role.”
The Commerce Department said GDP grew at just an 0.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter last year, well short of the 1.4% pace it reported in its “advance” GDP report last month https://t.co/qJcVnfETaK
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 13, 2026
Read more at AP News
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