4TH QUARTER GDP GROWS AT .6% ANNUAL GROWTH RATE

The US Economy stayed out of recession in the 4th quarter of 2007. Mostly due to a 6.5% growth rate of exports. The consumer was out in fashion, with a 2.3% growth rate on consumer purchases. Business cut back and lowered inventories by 1.7%, which is what really hurt GDP.

Economy Grows at 0.6 Percent Pace
By JEANNINE AVERSA,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-27 12:28:32
WASHINGTON (March 27) - The economy nearly sputtered out at the end of the year and is probably faring even worse now amid continuing housing, credit and financial crises. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product increased at a feeble 0.6 percent annual rate in the October-to-December quarter. The reading - unchanged from a previous estimate a month ago - provided stark evidence of just how much the economy has weakened. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a sizzling 4.9 percent growth rate. The gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States and is the best barometer of the country's economic health. Many economists say they believe growth in the current January-to-March quarter will be even weaker than the 0.6 percent figure of the previous quarter. A growing number also say the economy may actually be shrinking now. Under one rough rule, the economy needs to contract for six straight months to be considered in a recession. The government will release its estimate for first-quarter GDP in late April.
real the full report: http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/economy-grows-at-06-percent-pace/20080327090809990001