GDP whiffed.
The US’s gross domestic product increased by an annual rate of 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
This was the first estimate for the fourth quarter’s reading and is subject to revision. The second estimate will be released at the end of February.
Economists had estimated that the US economy grew by 2.2% quarter-over-quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“We would be wary of reading too much into the slowdown in GDP growth from 3.5% annualised in the third quarter to 1.9% in the fourth, because the temporary spike in soybean exports boosted the former and was a drag on the latter,” Paul Ashworth, the chief US economist at Capital Economics, wrote after the data crossed.
"Overall, with the survey evidence improving and the prospect of a big fiscal stimulus, focused on large income tax cuts, later this year, we expect GDP growth to accelerate from a disappointing 1.6% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2017," he added.
The third estimate for the third quarter showed that the US economy grew then by 3.5%.