US economy grows more quickly than expected

THE US economy grew at a faster-than-expected 5.7% pace in the fourth quarter, the quickest in more than six years, as businesses made less-aggressive cuts to inventories and stepped up spending.

The Commerce Department said today its first estimate put fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth at its fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003. The economy expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

Analysts had expected GDP to grow at a rate of below 5%.

Share