[IMF: U.S. Q4 GDP Growth to Slow Due to Government 'Shutdown'] Golden Finance reports that a spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the IMF has noticed signs of weakness in the U.S. economy. Partly affected by the government 'shutdown,' the U.S. fourth-quarter GDP growth is expected to be lower than the IMF's previous forecast of 1.9%. However, due to data shortages caused by the 'shutdown,' the IMF's ability to assess the performance of the U.S. economy has been impacted.