Gross Domestic Product Rises in Fourth Quarter - East Idaho News
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Gross Domestic Product Rises in Fourth Quarter

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Getty 032814 EconomyGraph?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1396002080701iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — While public opinion polls show a majority of Americans bemoaning the state of the economy, things may actually be picking up.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the gross domestic product rose at a 2.6 percent annual rate during the final quarter of 2013.

That’s better than the 2.4 percent rate predicted by the government and just slightly off the 2.7 percent estimate by economists for the final three months of last year.

Factors included better than expected consumer spending. The GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced within the U.S.

Although growth could slow due to the inclement weather this quarter, analysts believe there could be a rebound as the year moves forward on predictions that household wealth is increasing while debt declines.

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