Economy grew 2.1% in 2022 amid barrage of interest rate hikes

The economy grew 2.1% in 2022, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, a year marked first by recession fears and then by the largest burst of inflation in decades, which prompted a frantic campaign by the Federal Reserve to ease price pressures through interest rate hikes.

The numbers, adjusted for inflation, were driven by gross domestic product growth in second half of the year after the first half saw contraction, leading many to say that the economy had fallen into recession. GDP growth for the fourth quarter clocked in...