US GDP grows fastest in two years
Print Edition
The United States economy grew at its fastest pace in almost two years in the third quarter while business spending was stronger than previously estimated, pointing to some underlying strength that should be sustained.
Gross domestic product grew at a 4.1 percent annual rate instead of the 3.6 percent pace reported earlier this month, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate yesterday.
That was the quickest pace since the fourth quarter of 2011 and beat economists’ expectations for an unrevised 3.6 percent rate. The economy grew at a 2.5 percent pace in the April-June quarter.
Business spending increased at a 4.8 percent rate instead of the 3.5 percent pace reported early this month. That reflected stronger growth in intellectual property products than previously reported.
There were also revisions to consumption. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, was revised up 0.6 percentage points to a 2 percent rate. The revisions reflected higher spending on both goods and services than previously estimated.
Revisions to spending on gasoline and other energy goods accounted for part of the upward revision to spending on goods, while spending on health care and other services also was higher than previously estimated.
Consumer spending grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the second quarter.
Business spending on equipment was revised up to a 0.2 percent pace. It had previously been reported as being flat.
That left domestic demand rising at a 2.3 percent rate, instead of the 1.8 percent pace the government reported earlier this month.
Export growth was also hiked by two-tenths of a percentage point to a 3.9 percent pace.
A large build-up of stocks still accounted for much of the increase in GDP growth in the July-September quarter. That has left economists anticipating a sharp slowdown in the pace of inventory accumulation, which would hurt fourth-quarter growth.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
