Mubasher: The real gross domestic product (GDP) of the US rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 3.4% in the previous quarter, according to “third” official estimates on Thursday.

The gain in the real GDP was 2.6% in the second estimate for the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said.

Current-dollar GDP climbed 4.1% or $206.9 billion in the three months ended last December, reaching $20.87 trillion, compared to an increase of 4.9% or 246.3 billion in the prior three-month period.

The US price index for gross domestic purchases rose 1.7% during the period between October and December, a little below a gain of 1.8% over the period between July and September.

By 12:48 pm GMT, the US dollar index rose 0.37% to 97.1280.