By Nano Photos @Adobe Stock

Harriet Torry of The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. economy grew 2.5% in 2024, driven by strong consumer spending and low unemployment. Growth slowed slightly in Q4 to 2.25%, but overall, the economy showed resilience, with easing inflation and a solid labor market, despite some financial strain among consumers. Torry writes:

The U.S. economy grew 2.5% last year, slower than in 2023 but still at a solid pace thanks to strong spending by American consumers buoyed by low unemployment.

That annual GDP growth shows the seasonally adjusted fourth-quarter change from a year earlier. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal and the Federal Reserve use that metric for forecasts.

Growth slowed slightly in the final quarter of the year however. U.S. gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—rose at a 2.3% seasonally and inflation adjusted annual rate in the final quarter of last year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. […]

The Fed on Wednesday held interest rates steady and indicated it is in no rush to further ease policy.

The Fed cut rates by a combined percentage point last year, offering a slight reprieve on borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. Even so, rate-sensitive sectors struggled mightily under still-high borrowing costs: U.S. existing-home sales fell in 2024 to the lowest level since 1995.

Looking ahead, many business executives are voicing optimism.

Read more here.