WASHINGTON – The nation’s real gross domestic product for all of 2006 rose 3.3 percent in 2006, after rising 3.2 percent in 2005, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today.
The GDP is the total goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States. The BEA credited the increase to gains in personal consumption expenditures, exports, equipment and software, and an upturn in private inventory investment and state and local government spending, which were partially offset by an increase in imports and a decrease in residential fixed investment.
In the fourth quarter, however, the economy grew less than previously anticipated, as companies tried to sell down excess inventories, Bloomberg News said.
The real GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent during the quarter, after rising 2.0 percent in the third quarter. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2005, the GDP rose 3.1 percent.
The BEA credited the increase to gains in personal consumption, exports and government spending, and a decrease in imports, which were partially offset by decreases in private inventory investment and residential fixed investment.
Current-dollar GDP – the market value of the nation’s goods and services output – rose 3.9 percent to $13.4499 trillion, surpassing the third-quarter gain of 3.8 percent. It rose 6.3 percent or $788.8 billion in 2006, after gaining 6.3 percent in 2005.
“While the drag this quarter won’t be as great, companies are still trying to draw down inventories, so growth will continue to be sub-par.” Kevin Logan, senior market economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York, told Bloomberg. “The drag from homebuilding and manufacturing will probably persist through mid-year.”
