Reuters reports:
The U.S. economy maintained a moderate pace of growth in the fourth quarter, and again fell short of attaining the Trump administration’s coveted but elusive 3% annual growth target because of slumping business investment amid damaging trade tensions.
The Commerce Department’s snapshot of gross domestic product on Thursday will show the Federal Reserve’s three interest rate cuts in 2019 helped to keep the longest expansion in history, now in its 11th year, on track and avert a downturn.
Growth is, however, slowing as the stimulus fades from the White House and Republicans’ huge tax reductions in 2018, a package President Donald Trump had predicted would lift growth persistently above 3%. So far it has fallen short of that goal.
"The economy now has hit 3 percent. Nobody thought we'd be anywhere close. I think we can go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6 percent." – Donald Trump, Dec. 16, 2017
The Commerce Department announced today that GDP growth slowed to 2.1% in the fourth quarter.pic.twitter.com/C36HiPT9Tb
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 30, 2020
U.S. economy grew 2.3 percent in 2019, the slowest of Trump’s presidency, held back by trade fears and global slow… https://t.co/2N8MBXdKmF
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 30, 2020