Fourth-quarter GDP growth cut to 2.4%

Washington

THE US government has slashed its estimate for fourth-quarter growth as consumer spending and exports were less robust than initially thought, leaving the US economy on a more sustainable path of modest expansion.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a 2.4 per cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said yesterday. That was down sharply from the 3.2 per cent pace reported in January and the 4.1 per cent logged in the third quarter.