US economy on solid footing set to back Fed’s interest-rate hold

The US economy remained at a comfortable cruising speed in the final stretch of 2024, powered by healthy consumer spending and creating even more separation from its global counterparts.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg project the government’s initial estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product — the sum of goods and services produced — to show an annualised 2.7% increase. That would follow back-to-back quarters of about 3% growth.