29 March 2001, 17:32  US GDP-OVERVIEW

--US Q4 GDP revised to +1.0% from +1.1%
--US Q4 final sales revised to +1.7% from +1.5%
--US Q4 consumer spending unrevised at +2.8%
--US Q4 government spending revised to +2.9% from +2.7%
--US Q4 capital spending revised to -0.1% from -0.6%
--US Q4 GDP PCE price index unrevised at +1.9%
--US Q4 core GDP PCE price index unrevised at +1.6%
--Q4 GDP price deflator revised to +2.0% from +1.9%
--US Q4 GDP growth lowest since Q2 1995
--US net exports subtracted 0.6 pt from Q4 GDP
--US net inventories to subtract 0.6 pt from Q4 GDP; revised from -0.5
pt
By Simon Kennedy
Washington, March 29 (BridgeNews) - U.S. gross domestic product grew just 1.0% in the final quarter of 2000, the slowest growth since the second quarter of 1995 and below the 1.1% previously estimated and expected by analysts. "The small downward revision to fourth-quarter real GDP reflected downward revisions to inventory investment and exports of goods," the Commerce Department said.
* * * This is the third and final reading of fourth-quarter GDP. While the data underscores the weakness of the economy in the closing months of last year, analysts are now focusing on how it fared in the first quarter of this year. The first reading of first-quarter GDP will be released by Commerce on April 27. A BridgeNews poll of economists last week, projected GDP to grow just 0.6% in January through March.
The Federal Reserve has sought to boost the economy by slashing interest rates 150 basis points since Jan. 3 and has indicated it stands ready to lower borrowing costs further from the current 5.0%.

REVISIONS:
--Net exports of goods and services subtracted 0.6 percentage point from GDP growth, unrevised from the previous report. Exports fell 6.4% while imports fell 1.2%.
--Total inventories, subtracted a revised 0.6 percentage point from GDP, previously reported as cutting growth by 0.5 percentage point.
--Capital spending, the hallmark of the economic boom, fell 0.1%, compared with the 0.6% decline last reported.
--Business spending on equipment and software fell at an annual rate of 3.3%, under the 3.5% drop previously reported.
--Consumer spending, which accounts for around two-thirds of output, rose at an unrevised annual rate of 2.8%. Final sales--gross domestic product minus inventory investment--grew at a revised 3.7% annual pace, compared with the previous estimate of up 1.5%. Final sales to domestic purchasers, an indication of the strength of underlying demand in an economy, was up 4.1%, compared with the previous estimate of up 2.1%. --Government spending rose a revised 2.9%, compared with 2.7% rise when last reported. Federal government spending rose 3.8%, compared with the 3.7% increase previously reported.
INFLATION
Inflation was mostly unrevised in this report, although the implicit price deflator was marked up to 2.0% from the 1.9% previously reported for the fourth quarter. The consumer spending price index rose at a 1.9%, while the core consumer spending price index was up 1.6%.
WHAT WAS EXPECTED:
The BridgeNews survey of economists' estimates for Thursday's revised GDP figure ranged from up 0.9% to up 1.1%. The final sales projections ranged from up 1.3% to up 1.9% with the consensus at up 1.5%. The PCE index was expected by to rise 1.9%, while the price deflator was pegged at 1.9% in a rangeof 1.9% to 2.0%. End
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