The United States economy expanded at a 7% annual pace in the fourth quarter, as people increased their spending and businesses replenished their stockpile of goods following a decline in inventory to significantly low levels during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-national data shows that economic growth in the country has outperformed the growth of other comparable economies.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket, but economists believe that at most this will shave off only a few tenths of a percentage point from the country’s GDP growth rate. The U.S. is expected to weather high prices as the economy strengthens.
