That was a deceleration from the 3.5% growth pace logged in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, exports fell at a 4.3% rate, reversing the 10% increase notched in the third quarter. Trade sliced off 1.70 percentage points from GDP growth in the fourth quarter, after adding 0.85 percentage point in the prior period. Most of the hit came from soybean exports, which fired up GDP growth in the third quarter after a poor soy harvest in Argentina and Brazil. Income at the disposal of households increased 3.7% in the fourth quarter, after a robust 4.1% rise in the prior period.

Source: The Edge Markets January 27, 2017 22:37 UTC