Fourth-Quarter GDP Revised Upward to 2.5%

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5% rate in the fourth quarter, higher than previously reported, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The gross domestic product growth rate for the full year was 3.3% — up from 3.2% in 2005 and the same as previously reported, Commerce said.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, expanded at a 4.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter, compared with 2.8% in the third quarter.
 
Thursday’s reading was the third and final by the department for the fourth-quarter GDP. It exceeded economists’ estimates of a 2.2% rate, Bloomberg reported.