The US economy grew more slowly than previously thought in the 2013 fourth quarter, largely due to weaker consumer spending, official data released Friday showed.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product growth in the final quarter was at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent, revising its initial estimate of a 3.2 per cent GDP expansion.
Analysts had expected a downward revision, but forecast a less sharp drop to 2.6 per cent.
The report showed the world's largest economy had significantly lost momentum even before a series of weaker economic data in January and February, which some say are due to severe winter weather in much of the country.
The economy grew at a robust rate of 4.1 per cent in the third quarter.
Most of the fourth-quarter growth revision came from weaker than first estimated growth in consumer spending, which drives the bulk of US economic activity. Spending was revised down to 2.6 per cent from the prior estimate of 3.3 per cent.
