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WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. economy expanded
at a sluggish pace in the fourth quarter although a big gain in
business investment and higher exports of services led the
government to push up its previous estimate for growth.
Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.4 percent annual
rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, just below the
0.5 percent gain forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter of
2011 and far from what is needed to fuel a faster drop in the
unemployment rate. It was, however, higher than the government’s
previous estimate of a 0.1 percent growth rate.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
