While the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a slowdown in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the final three months of 2013, the increase still matched economist estimates.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 4.1 percent growth seen in the third quarter. The GDP growth came in line with the expectations of most economists.
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said the most encouraging element of the report was a pick-up in the growth rate of domestic demand.
The report said the growth in consumer spending accelerated to 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter from 2.0 percent in the third quarter. The increase reflected the fastest growth since the fourth quarter of 2010.
A pick-up in export growth to 11.4 percent in the fourth quarter from 3.9 percent in the third quarter was also a big positive, Ashworth noted.
The Commerce Department said the fourth quarter GDP growth also reflected positive contributions from non-residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and state and local government spending.
At the same time, negative contributions from federal government spending and residential fixed investment limited the upside. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, also increased.
The report said the slowdown in the pace of growth compared to the previous quarter partly reflected a deceleration in private inventory investment, a larger decrease in federal government spending, and a downturn in residential fixed investment.
Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, said, "Bottom line, it was consumer spending and trade that contributed the most to growth."
"With an expected slowdown in the inventory build in Q1, GDP growth should moderate back to the 2.5% level this quarter," he added. "Also, with the emerging market FX turbulence in recent weeks, we'll be watching closely what impact it has on exports."
On the inflation front, the Commerce Department said its reading on core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter following a 1.4 percent increase in the third quarter.
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August 21, 2026 14:42 ET The minutes of the latest policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, housing market data and manufacturing sector survey results were the main news for the U.S. economy this week. In Europe, inflation data from the U.K. was the highlight, while consumer price data from Japan drew attention in Asia.