Advance Estimate Shows GDP Grew at a Real, Annualized Rate of 2.0% in the 3rd Quarter

Oct 29 2010

Associated Image The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate of growth in the inflation-adjusted (“real”) gross domestic product (GDP) for the 3rd quarter of 2010

According to the advance estimate, annualized GDP growth in the 3rd quarter was 2.0%.   Growth in the 2nd quarter was 1.7%, and in the 1st quarter was 3.7%.   The BEA will release its second estimate for 3rd quarter GDP growth on November 23rd.

Highlights:

  • The 2.0% rate of growth primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumptions expenditures, private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, federal government spending, and exports.  These positive contributions were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and imports.
  • The small acceleration in GDP growth, from a rate of 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, came primarily from a steep deceleration in imports (a subtraction from GDP) and from accelerations in private inventory investment and personal consumption expenditures.  These were partly offset by a downturn in residential fixed investment and decelerations in nonresidential fixed investment and exports.   
  • The change in real private inventories added 1.44 percentage points to the change in 3rd quarter GDP, compared to a contribution of 0.82 percentage point in the 2nd quarter.
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