MW: GDP revised up to 5.9% on slower inventory cuts
By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy grew slightly faster than previously reported in the fourth quarter, but details of the revision to gross domestic product show final sales in the United States were actually weaker than reported a month ago, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. U.S. real gross domestic product increased at a 5.9% seasonally adjusted annualized pace, revised up from 5.7% estimated last month. The revision was exactly in line with expectations. Nearly two thirds of the growth was accounted for by changes in inventories, not by final sales. Compared with the first GDP estimate, inventories were bigger, business investments were higher, and exports were higher.
