Fourth Quarter GDP Revised, Econ. Grew By -- 0.1 Percent?

Good news, everyone!

Fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP), the total output of goods and services in the U.S., has been revised to reflect that, rather than a contraction of 0.01 percent, the economy grew by 0.1 percent!

Yeah.

“The Commerce Department's revision to fourth-quarter growth was only slightly better than its initial estimate that the economy shrank at a rate of 0.1 percent,” the Associated Press notes.

"The revision to the fourth-quarter gross domestic product was due to higher exports and more business investment," the report adds.

Consumer spending and business investment, which drove the 0.1 percent improvement, were stronger in Q4 than originally estimated, according to the revised data.

Still, from "-0.1% to +0.1% (on expectations of a 0.5% print): the Q4 GDP revision was the smallest possible to make it seem that the US economy grew in the fourth quarter," Zero Hedge notes.

"A quick look at the components, however, reveals more of the same, with a small drop in the consumption contribution to GDP (from 1.52% to 1.47%), Fixed investment growing modestly, as well as imports, while the negative components remained roughly in line, with Inventories detracting the most from growth in Q4, or 1.55%."

"If JCP is any indication, expectations of aggressive inventory restocking in Q1 may be very optimistic," the report adds.

ZH

"One thing is clear," they add, "the general GDP trendline is ugly, and we may now see downward revisions to Q1 growth forecasts in the aftermath of today's number."

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Front page photo courtesy Getty Images.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that GDP grew by 0.01 percent. This is false. It grew by 0.1 percent. There's a huge difference and I apologize for that rogue zero.