Investing.com – Growth of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter was revised up on Friday, blowing past consensus estimates for a downward revision, according to official data.
The second estimate of fourth quarter growth domestic product showed growth of 1.0%, revised up from the initial reading of a 0.7% rise.
Analysts had expected growth to suffer a downward revision to 0.7%.
On the other hand, personal consumption registered a 2.0% advance in the last three months of 2015 when compared to the third quarter, below expectations for a 2.2% gain on the quarter.
In an immediate reaction, the dollar gained strength and U.S. stock futures increased gains.
At 13:43GMT or 8:43AM ET, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 115 points, or 0.69%, the S&P 500 futures gained 13 points, or 0.65%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 36 points, or 0.84%.
Oil also extended gains with West Texas breaking above $34 for the first time in nearly four weeks as the London barrel moved towards pocketing its firstly weekly gain in a month. Specifically, crude oil futures for April delivery jumped 3.63% to $34.67 at 13:53 GMT or 8:53AM ET, while Brent oil traded up 3.91% to $36.67.