Monday, April 1, 2013

US economy ekes out 0.4% growth in fourth quarter



The Department of Commerce said the US economy grew faster than expected in the last quarter of 2012. It was estimated that the growth would be 0.1%, but thanks to increased investments in plant and equipment the growth rate was 0.4%. However at the moment the figures are lower than they were in the previous quarter. The defence spending  and government expenditures were cut which hurt economic output. The revision of DGP did not have an impact on the overall economy. During the October-December quarter showed that the home sales were rising and the labor market was improving. Chief investment officer of Harbor Advisory said that the economy is improving. According to last year’s rate, the investment bank was expecting US GDP to increase by 2.2%. Last week the US Federal Reserve said that stimulus measures are still needed. The Fed is buying $85bn a month of Treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities so the borrowing costs for households and businesses are lower. The Fed also wants to see long term trend of falling unemployment.   

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