Washington, DC, January 31--The economy finished 2004 with its best performance in five years despite slowing in the final stretch. The outlook ahead: a moderate jog, rather than a sprint.
Gross domestic product posted a 4.4 percent increase for all of last year spurred by brisk consumer and business spending, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The latest snapshot of GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States, exceeded the 3 percent registered in 2003 and marked the strongest showing since the 4.5 percent gain of 1999.
In the October-to-December quarter, the economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate, its most sluggish pace since the first quarter of 2003. In the third quarter, the economy expanded at a 4 percent rate.
Although economists had expected a 3.5 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter, they said its 3.1 percent performance was still respectable and not as weak as the number suggested.
The deceleration seen in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter mostly reflected a drag on growth from the nation's swollen trade deficit. That shaved a sizable 1.73 percentage points off of fourth-quarter GDP.
Consumers and businesses, however, showed a relatively hearty appetite to spend during the final quarter even as energy prices soared.
