America's gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to numbers released Friday by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter of 2016, GDP increased 3.5 percent. "The deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter reflected a downturn in exports, an acceleration in imports, a deceleration in [personal consumption expenditures], and a downturn in federal government spending that were partly offset by an upturn in residential fixed investment, an acceleration in private inventory investment, an upturn in state and local government spending, and an acceleration in nonresidential fixed investment," according to a press release announcing the numbers. Overall, GDP increased 1.6 percent in 2016, down from an increase of 2.6 percent in 2015.