WASHINGTON: US economic growth slowed to a 2.6 percent pace in the fourth quarter last year, as imports surged, investment slowed and government spending shrank, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
For the full year, economic growth came in at 2.4 percent, a pickup from 2.2 percent in 2013.
The first estimate of economic activity for the final quarter of the year was slower than expected, and came off a bristling 5.0 percent annual pace in the previous three months.
Consumer spending picked up, likely helped by the boost to pocketbooks from the sharp fall in fuel prices.
Personal consumption expenditures rose at a 4.3 percent annual pace, compared with 3.2 percent in the third quarter.
But on the other side, business investment growth slowed sharply, and government spending contracted, especially in the defense sector.
Exports, which add to gross domestic product, slowed, while imports, which count as a negative effect, gained.
The data showed a surge in business inventories, which could result in duller investment in the current quarter.
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