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The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s fourth-quarter survey of 45 economists indicates that gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.4% in 2012, down from an estimate of 2.6% in its third-quarter survey.  Also, 2013 growth estimates were ratcheted down to 2.7% from 2.9%.  Economic growth predictions for the current quarter held steady at 2.6%, while the estimate for 2011 rose slightly to 1.8% from 1.7%.

The economy is poised to expand at its fastest pace in eight years because of brisk consumer and business spending, according to a new survey of 51 economists by the Wall Street Journal.

The economists predict gross domestic product (GDP) will be 3.5% higher in the fourth quarter of 2011 than a year earlier, a slight increase from the 3.3% they projected last month and, if it comes to pass, the largest increase since 2003. GDP is expected to grow at a 3.6% annual rate in the current quarter, a 0.4% increase from the final quarter of 2010.