U.S. economy expanded 2.1% in Q4, driven by consumer spending and housing market

No recession yet.

The U.S. economy expanded 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, driven by a drop in imports, a jump in consumer spending, and a booming housing market. The market had anticipated an increase of 1.9 percent.

Business investment weakened significantly, which could have been caused by trade uncertainty. We should get a better look at this metric in the first half of 2020.

The PCE Index was flat at 1.6 percent.

Overall, the economy expanded at 2.3 percent in 2019, which is short of President Donald Trump’s promise of three percent growth.