Real GDP for the fourth quarter of 2016 grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.1%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate, up from the second estimate of 1.9%. The general picture of economic growth remains the same.
The change in GDP estimates reflected upward revisions to personal consumption expenditures and private inventory investment, partly offset by downward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment and to exports.
The upward revision to consumer spending reflected upward revisions to both goods and services. The nonresidential fixed investment downward revision was due to downward revisions to equipment and to intellectual property products.
Real GDP grew at 1.6% in 2016, a slower pace than the 2.6% rate in 2015. The deceleration in real GDP reflected lower private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment, along with decelerations in PCE and residential fixed investment.
Read the GDP release.
