US GDP slowed sharply in Q3 but big rebound expected in Q4

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed to a modest annual rate of 2.1% in the October-December quarter, slightly better than first reported. But economists are predicting a solid rebound in the current quarter as long as rising inflation and a recent uptick in COVID cases do not derail activity.The increase in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, was up from an initial estimate of 2% for the third quarter. But the revision was still well below the solid gains of 6.3% in the first quarter this year and 6.7% in the second quarter.