U.S. economy surges to strongest growth in two years

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post

By Ana Swanson October 28 at 8:35 AM

The U.S. economy grew at its strongest pace in two years in the third quarter, according to government data released Friday morning.

Between the months of July and September, the nation’s gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.9 percent. The reading surpassed expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who had forecast annual growth in the quarter of 2.6 percent.

The reading showed the nation’s economy bouncing back following months of sluggish economic growth. Economic growth has been below 1.5 percent for the previous three quarters.

The data, released by the Commerce Department, showed that the rebound was driven by exports and business ordering to rebuild their inventories. Consumer spending, which has driven growth this year, moderated somewhat.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/28/u-s-economy-surges-to-strongest-growth-in-two-years/

[NewJeffCT]

1. How soon until Trump says that the numbers are rigged

Rigged, I tell ya.

[cynzke]

2. Donald Trump, WRONG on the economy....!

Donald Trump, WRONG FOR THIS COUNTRY!

[pangaia]

3. Really? Who's getting all the money?

[George II]

7. Read the report.

[pangaia]

11. I can't.

I ",,,, have 0 free articles left this month."

LOL !!!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. You can get the report directly from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT, Friday, October 28, 2016

BEA 16—57

* See the navigation bar at the right side of the news release text for links to data tables, contact personnel and their telephone numbers, and supplementary materials.

Lisa Mataloni: [phone] (GDP) [e-mail]
Jeannine Aversa: [phone] (News Media) [e-mail]

National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product: Third Quarter 2016 (Advance Estimate)

Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2016 (table 1), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent.

The Bureau emphasized that the third-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see “Source Data for the Advance Estimate” on page 3). The "second" estimate for the third quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on November 29, 2016.



The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased (table 2).

The acceleration in real GDP growth in the third quarter reflected an upturn in private inventory investment, an acceleration in exports, a smaller decrease in state and local government spending, and an upturn in federal government spending. These were partly offset by a smaller increase in PCE, and a larger increase in imports.
....

Additional Information

Resources

Additional Resources available at www.bea.gov:
• Stay informed about BEA developments by reading the BEA blog, signing up for BEA’s email subscription service, or following BEA on Twitter @BEA_News.
• Historical time series for these estimates can be accessed in BEA’s Interactive Data Application.
• Access BEA data by registering for BEA’s Data Application Programming Interface (API).
• For more on BEA’s statistics, see our monthly online journal, the Survey of Current Business.
• BEA's news release schedule
• NIPA Handbook: Concepts and Methods of the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts

http://twitter.com/BEA_News

[pangaia]

14. Thanks.

I'd rather listen to a recording of Sayaka Shoji playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto.





In fact, I did hear her play it live Sunday in Cleveland..

[Laf.La.Dem.]

4. As per Mr. Trump!

rigged - rig - rigger - riggest - lies - lie - etc.

[George II]

5. Thanks Obama!

[HAB911]

6. Trump can fix this!

[Fahrenthold451]

8. In a normal election this would be huge news

The entire Trump narrative relies on the proposition hat this country is falling into the sea economically. Trumps insanity, however, dominates the news cycle. This story should absolutely be the lead everywhere but somehow I get the feeling that we will be talking about something Trump said today...

[Roland99]

9. That "growth" will unwind quite a bit in the 4th quarter >>>>

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gdp-hits-29-in-biggest-gain-since-mid-2014-2016-10-28

The driving force behind the improved third-quarter performance was a 10% spike in exports, helped by a temporary boom in U.S. soybean shipments after a poor harvest in South America. Some of those gains are expected to unwind in the fourth quarter, however.

Imports also rose, but by a much smaller 2.3%. A smaller trade deficit boosts GDP.

[melm00se]

10. I rarely put stock in the

1st release economic numbers as they inevitably get revised in the coming weeks and months.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. Thanks, DonViejo. Same story, different source; plus link to Bureau of Economic Analysis:

The Wall Street Journal. went with "roars" versus the Washington Post's "surges":

U.S. Economy Roars Back, Grew 2.9% in Third Quarter

Growth rate was the fastest recorded in two years after expanding an anemic 1.4% in the second quarter

By Eric Morath and Ben Leubsdorf

[e-mail]
http://twitter.com/EricMorath

[e-mail]
http://twitter.com/BenLeubsdorf

Updated Oct. 28, 2016 9:38 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—U.S. economic growth accelerated last quarter, easing fears of a near-term slowdown but doing little to change the trajectory of a long but weak expansion.

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at an inflation- and seasonally adjusted 2.9% annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was stronger growth than the second quarter’s pace of 1.4%. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected growth at a 2.5% pace for the July-to-September period. ... Last quarter’s growth rate was the fastest recorded in two years. ... The third-quarter acceleration largely reflected increased exports and a buildup of inventories, while consumer spending increased at a slower rate.



Friday’s data also gave voters their last comprehensive look at the economy’s health before the November election. ... The improvement could give Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton more latitude to position herself as the candidate to continue Obama administration policies that have led to a long expansion. Still, the most recent gain comes in the weakest expansion in recent memory, a point Republican candidate Donald Trump makes frequently.

Since the recession ended in mid-2009 the economy has grown at roughly a 2% annual rate, making the current expansion the weakest on records back to 1949. ... The third-quarter GDP report showed consumer-spending gains slowed after a strong advance this spring. Personal-consumption expenditures rose at a 2.1% pace in the third quarter compared with a 4.3% gain during the prior period. Spending on long-lasting durable goods such as cars and appliances rose at a better-than-9% rate for the second straight quarter.