US Q4 GDP revised down sharply

Annualised US GDP growth for Q4 2013 has been revised down from 3.2% to 2.4% at the second estimate, with worse-than-expected personal consumption figures to blame.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis' latest estimate, based on more complete data, was worse than economists' expectations of a 2.5% figure. Personal consumption expenditure increased by 2.6% in Q4, down from the 3.3% reading in January's initial estimate. The headline 2.4% figure is well down on the 4.1% annualised growth rate seen in Q3. That fall "reflected a deceleration in private inventory investment, a larger decrease in federal government spending, and downturns in residential fixed investment and in state and local government spending," the BEA said.