US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a resilient economy

The government is expected Thursday to report that the U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — rose at an annual rate of around 2% from October through December. That would mark a deceleration from a vigorous 4.9% annual growth rate in the July-September quarter. But it would still showcase the surprising durability of the world’s largest economy, marking the sixth straight quarter in which GDP has expanded at a solid annual pace of 2% or more. Helping fuel that growth has been steady spending by consumers, whose purchases drive more than two-thirds of the economy.