The U.S. economy entered 2017 with a solid head of steam, driven by consumer spending and a pickup in business investment. President Donald Trump's stoking of trade tensions puts that momentum at risk.
Fourth-quarter figures released Friday showed how swings in trade can have big effects: Net exports subtracted 1.7 percentage points from gross domestic product, the most since the second quarter of 2010. The wider trade deficit followed a spike in soybean shipments that boosted exports in the July-to-September period.
The drag from trade limited the increase in gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, to a 1.9% annualized rate last quarter, less than analysts projected. Continued gains in household purchases, the first advance in business-equipment spending in five quarters, and accumulation of inventories contributed to growth.
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