First Revision

Oops — not quite 5% last quarter:

The economy grew at a 4 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2003 – a slowdown from the red-hot performance of the prior quarter but still compelling evidence of a recovery in full motion at year’s end.

The reading on the gross domestic product for the October-to-December quarter, reported Friday by the Commerce Department, came after the economy grew at a sizzling 8.2 percent rate in the third quarter. That had been the strongest performance in nearly two decades.

Not quite as good as hoped — but a lot more sustainable.