The U.S. economy grew at a 3.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the government reported Friday, much stronger than previously estimated due to a stronger trade and investment performance.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation’s economy, grew at the revised rate rather than the 3.1 percent reported a month ago. That was slightly stronger than the 3.7 percent rate that Wall Street economists had forecast and only a small decline from the third quarter’s 4 percent pace.
Nearly half the revision stemmed from a stronger trade performance, reflecting more robust exports than previously thought.
Statistics Canada corrected a $1.4 billion error in underestimating U.S. exports to Canada during November, and later data also showed the U.S. trade deficit for December narrowed more than had been anticipated.
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