U.S. GDP grows 2.5 pct in 2023 amid resilient consumer spending

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.5 percent in 2023, with the fourth quarter increasing at an annual rate of 3.3 percent, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday.

In the fourth quarter, the increase in real GDP reflected a surge in consumer spending, exports, state and local government spending, nonresidential fixed investment, federal government spending, private inventory investment and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

The fourth quarter growth marked a slowdown from the third quarter of 2023, which recorded real GDP growth of 4.9 percent.

Compared to the third quarter, the report showed that the deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected slowdowns in private inventory investment, federal government spending, residential fixed investment and consumer spending. Imports decelerated.

Real GDP increased 2.5 percent in 2023 (from the 2022 annual level to the 2023 annual level), compared with an increase of 1.9 percent in 2022.

Measured from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2023, real GDP increased 3.1 percent during the period.

According to the Federal Reserve's latest economic projections released in December, officials revised their assessments of GDP growth in 2023 to 2.6 percent but expect growth to cool.