Q4 GDP revised higher, boosted by consumer spending

Washington

US economic growth slowed less than previously reported in the fourth quarter as robust consumer spending spurred the largest increase in imports in two years.

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 2.1 per cent annualised rate instead of the previously reported 1.9 per cent pace, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in its third GDP estimate for the period. The economy grew at a 3.5 per cent rate in the third quarter.

The government also said that corporate profits after tax with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments increased at an annual rate of 2.3 per cent in Q4 after…