The New York Fed, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has reduced its estimate on US gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of 2018.
The bank on Friday reduced the estimated GDP target figure as a steeper-than-forecast drop in homebuilding in December offset a stronger-than-expected increase in industrial production last month.
The regional central bank’s “Nowcast” model calculated the US economy was expanding at an annualised pace of 3.07 per cent in the Q1, slower than the 3.21 per cent rate calculated a week earlier.
The New York Fed raised its GDP estimate for the final three months of 2017 to 3.94 per cent from 3.88 per cent last week, reports Reuters.
On Thursday, the government said domestic home construction fell 8.2 per cent in December for its biggest percentage decline in 13 months to an annualised pace of 1.192 million units.
Economists blamed the drop on unusually chilly weather at the end of December.
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday factory production grew 0.9 per cent last month stemming from a pickup in heating demand from the cold weather.