 "Economy")
US economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as a plunge in shipments of soybeans weighed on exports, but steady consumer spending and rising business investment suggested the economy would continue to expand.
Gross domestic product increased at a 1.9 per cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. That was a deceleration from the 3.5 per cent growth pace logged in the third quarter.
As a result, the economy grew only 1.6 per cent in 2016, the weakest pace since 2011. Growth last year was constrained by cheap oil and a strong dollar, which hurt company profits and undercut business investment.
An inventory correction also eroded growth. Those impediments to growth are mostly out of the way. The economy expanded 2.6 per cent in 2015.
In the fourth quarter, exports fell at a 4.3 per cent rate, reversing the 10 percent increase notched in the third quarter. The fourth-quarter drop in exports was the biggest since the first quarter of 2015.
Trade sliced off 1.70 percentage points from GDP growth in the fourth quarter after adding 0.85 percentage point in the prior period. That was the biggest drag since the second quarter of 2010. Most of the hit came from soybean exports, which fired up GDP growth in the third quarter after a poor soy harvest in Argentina and Brazil.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP rising at a 2.2 per cent rate in the fourth quarter.
Prices for US government debt rose and US interest rates futures turned flat after the data. US stock index futures pared gains while the dollar fell against the euro and yen.
OUTLOOK FAIRLY BRIGHT
With a labor market at or near full employment starting to lift wages and supporting consumer spending, the outlook for the economy is fairly bright. Growth this year could also get a boost from President Donald Trump's pledge to increase infrastructure spending, cut taxes and reduce regulations.
Although Trump has offered little detail on his economic policy, his promises have been embraced by consumers, businesses and investors. Consumer and business confidence have soared, while the US stock market has rallied to record highs.
But uncertainty over the Trump administration's trade policy poses a risk to the economy.
A stronger economy would also mean further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. The US central bank has forecast three rate hikes this year. It raised its benchmark overnight interest rate in December by 25 basis points to a range of 0.50 percent to 0.75 per cent.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, increased at a 2.5 per cent rate in the fourth quarter. It rose at a 3.0 per cent pace in the third quarter.
Income at the disposal of households increased 3.7 per cent in the fourth quarter after a robust 4.1 per cent rise in the prior period. Savings dipped to $791.2 billion from $818.1 billion in the third quarter.
With domestic demand increasing steadily, businesses continued to restock. They accumulated inventories at a rate of $48.7 billion in the last quarter, up from $7.1 billion in the third quarter. Inventories added 1.0 percentage point to GDP growth, double the contribution in the third quarter.
Business investment shifted into higher gear, with spending on equipment increasing at a 3.1 per cent rate after four straight quarterly declines. The gain reflects a surge in gas and oil well drilling, in tandem with rising crude oil prices.
Spending on mining exploration, wells and shafts increased at a 24.3 per cent rate after declining at a 30.0 per cent pace in the third quarter. Energy services firm Baker Hughes said last Friday that US energy companies added 29 oil rigs in the week to Jan 20, bringing the total count to 551 - the most since November 2015.
Investment in nonresidential structures, however, fell at a 5.0 per cent pace in the fourth quarter after rising at a 12.0 per cent rate in the prior period.
Investment in home building rebounded after two straight quarterly declines, contributing to growth. Government spending picked up as a rise in state and local government investment offset a decline in federal government expenditures.
