New York (CNN Business) US economic growth slowed slightly at the end of last year, but not nearly as much as feared by some economists.

The US gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economy, grew at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter.

Although that's slower than the previous three months, it's faster than the same period a year earlier.

Some forecasts had been much lower. The Federal Reserve of Atlanta had forecast growth of only 1.8%. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast growth as slow as 1.4%.

Apple AAPL Caterpillar CAT Some economists worry that slowing economies elsewhere in the world, particularly in China and Europe, will drag down American economic growth. The US economy depends on trade with those countries. The rising trade tensions between the United States and some of its trading partners hurt the sales of several major US companies, includingand. New orders for many factories had slowed at the end of last year.