The numbers: The US economy expanded in the fourth quarter at a revised annual rate of 4.3% – a touch higher than previously reported – and even faster growth is expected in the coming months.
The gross domestic product increased in relation to the previous reading of 4.1%, mainly because of a little more business investment, the revised government figures show.
The economy appears to be accelerating again after slowing down at the end of the year, following a record coronavirus outbreak. Economists polled by Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal predict that GDP will increase 4.9% in the spring and 7% in the summer.
GDP is the sum of all goods and services produced by the economy and is a kind of scorecard for how the United States is doing.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis updates the GDP report twice after its initial release, as more timely information is obtained to give a more complete picture of how the economy has fared.
Reading: The US economy accelerates in March – and is not about to slow down
What happened: The biggest change in the fourth quarter’s GDP report was in business investment. Investments in inventories, intellectual property and housing were all slightly higher than previously reported.
Exports also increased 22.3%, revised against the previous reading of 21.8%. And state and local spending was not as weak as previously reported.
The increase in consumer spending – by far the largest contributor to the GDP report – has been reduced slightly to 2.3% from 2.4%.
Most of the other figures who won the report have changed little.
The big picture: The economy is picking up speed again due to the decline in coronavirus cases, increased vaccinations and warmer weather. A gigantic $ 1.9 trillion federal stimulus will give the economy an additional boost.
The biggest unknown is whether the coronavirus will continue to disappear.
Another potential thorn is the increase in inflation. The recovery sparked a spate of price increases on many important supplies, a problem exacerbated by the growing scarcity of important materials, such as wood and computer chips.
Reading: Economists say inflation risks are the highest in two decades and could force the Fed to raise interest rates in 2022
Market reaction: The DJIA of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
and S&P 500 SPX,
were set to open lower in Thursday’s trading.