The record-long US expansion is more vulnerable to weakening than previously thought, latest numbers show
27 February 2020 - 20:33Workers at Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington, the US. The US's revised growth estimate was better than many countries in Europe but below President Donald Trump's goal of 3%. Picture: JASON REDMOND / AFP
But consumer spending, which makes up about two-thirds of the economy, was revised down to a 1.7% increase from 1.8%, also matching forecasts. Nonresidential fixed investment was revised lower to a 2.3% drop, representing the third straight decrease and matching the biggest decline since 2015. Earlier in February, economists had forecast that US growth would slow to 1.5% in the first quarter, amid weaker gains in government spending and only a slight increase in private investment.
A key measure of underlying demand — final sales to domestic purchasers — rose an annualised 1.5% in the fourth quarter, revised from an initially reported 1.6% and the weakest in a year.Net exports contributed an upwardly revised 1.53 percentage points to fourth-quarter GDP growth, while inventories dragged down the headline figure by nearly a percentage point, less than initially reported.
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