The U.S. economy boomed in 2023, thanks to consumers opening up wallets [View all]
ECONOMY
The U.S. economy boomed in 2023, thanks to consumers opening up wallets
New GDP figures today are expected to show solid growth at the end of last year
By Abha Bhattarai
January 25, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST
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The U.S. economy probably grew at a brisk pace in 2023, shaking off recession fears and offering an upbeat picture of consumers and businesses ahead of a pivotal election year.
Fresh government data this morning is expected to show that the economy expanded by 2.7 percent last year, according to economists polled by Bloomberg News, a comparatively strong pace that matches gross domestic product figures notched most years leading into a presidential election year, going back four decades.
Although growth probably slowed in the last three months of the year to about 2 percent, down from the a sweltering 4.9 percent in the previous quarter the economy has soundly returned to stable footing following a period of dramatic pandemic-fueled swings that marked 2020 through early 2022.
The doom and gloom the prevailed last year has been swept aside, said Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, global chief economist at Boston Consulting Group. The pessimism has been punted out, quarter after quarter.
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By Abha Bhattarai
Abha Bhattarai is the economics correspondent for The Washington Post. She previously covered retail for the publication. Twitter
https://twitter.com/abhabhattarai