WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year was revised up to 2.1 percent from its previous reading of 1.9 percent, as personal spending increased more than previously estimated, according to the third estimate released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, increased 3.5 percent in the quarter, an upward revision from 3 percent in the second estimate and also higher than the 3 percent growth in the second quarter.
However, consumption's positive contribution to GDP growth in the United States was partly offset by negative contribution from exports, said the Commerce Department.
Due to the U.S. dollar appreciation in the last few months of 2016, exports dropped 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter, a larger decline than the previous estimate, while imports surged 9 percent.
Net exports subtracted 1.82 percentage points from the GDP growth in the fourth quarter, larger than the 1.7 percentage points reported in the previous estimate.
For the whole of 2016, the U.S. economy grew 1.6 percent, the slowest expansion since 2011, after increasing 2.6 percent in 2015.
According to forecasts made by the U.S. Federal Reserve officials, the U.S. economy is expected to grow 2.1 percent in 2017 and 2018. With the moderate economic growth, the central bank is expected to raise interest rates twice for the remainder of the year after a hike this month.
Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer said recently that the risks to the U.S. economy are more or less balanced, and the Federal Open Market Committee's median estimate for two more hikes this year "seems about right."
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