WASHINGTON - Fourth quarter gross domestic product growth was unrevised at a 1.9% annual rate of growth in the second estimate, below the 2.1% gain expected as an upward adjustment to PCE growth and no revisions to the net export gap was offset by downward revisions to the other components, data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed.
Nonresidential fixed investment was revised down to a 1.3% growth pace from the 2.4% increase in the advance estimate, while residential fixed investment was revised down to a 9.6% rate from the 10.2% growth rate in the advance estimate.
Inventories were up $46.2 billion in the second estimate, a smaller increase than the $48.7 billion rise in the advance estimate.
Government spending was revised down sharply to 0.4% growth pace from the 1.2% gain in the advance estimate.
PCE growth was revised up to a 3.0% annual rate in the second estimate from a 2.5% gain in the advance estimate, with upward adjustments to both goods and services.
Durables goods PCE is now up 11.5% compared with the 10.9% gain in the advance estimate, while nondurables goods PCE was revised up to a 2.8% growth pace from 2.3% in the advance estimate.
Service PCE is now up 1.8%, an upward revision from the 1.3% gain reported in the advance estimate. BEA provided an advance picture of quarterly services spending starting for the fourth quarter, which is incorporated into this data.
The net export gap was unrevised at $599.6 billion. Exports were revised up to a 4.0% rate of decline from a 4.3% drop in the advance estimate, while imports were revised up to an 8.5% rate of growth from 8.3% in the advance estimate.
Real final sales were unrevised at a 0.9% pace, same as the advance estimate, but still the slowest quarterly growth pace since the first quarter of 2014.
The chain price index was revised down slightly to a 2.0% increase from the 2.1% rise in the advance estimate. The closely watched core PCE price index was revised down to a 1.2% gain from the 1.3% increase in the advance estimate. The year/year rate for this measure was unrevised at 1.7%, the same as in the third quarter.
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