Last year’s economy was hottest in three years

GDP, or gross domestic product, is the broadest measure of all the goods and services produced within the economy. It expanded at a 2.6 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, a slowdown from the 3.4 percent growth in the third quarter.

A drop in consumer spending was the biggest contributor to fourth-quarter slowdown. The government shutdown in the last 10 days of the year also shaved about 0.1 percent of growth off the quarter.

The GDP number for the year was 2.9 percent, matching 2015 for the high point in the current economic expansion, which started in 2010. But it falls short of President Donald Trump’s promise to grow the economy at 3 percent a year over the next decade.

This is a developing story…