Fourth-Quarter GDP Revised Downward to 2.2%

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The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, in lowering its earlier estimate of 3.5%.The gross domestic product growth rate for the full year was 3.3% — up from 3.2% in 2005 but lower than the previous 3.4% estimate for 2006, Commerce said.The fourth-quarter rate was just below economists’ estimate of a 2.3% growth rate, Bloomberg reported.The third-quarter growth rate was 2%. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of GDP, expanded at a 4.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter, compared with 2.8% in the third quarter. The fourth-quarter GDP rate will be revised one more time next month.