U.S. economy grew as initially estimated in Q3

A report from the Commerce Department showed on Friday the U.S. economy grew as initially estimated in the third quarter of 2019, as upward revisions to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and nonresidential fixed investment were offset by a downward revision to private inventory investment.

According to the third estimate, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, as reported in the second estimate.

Economists had expected the growth rate to remain unrevised at 2.1 percent.

In the second quarter, the economy expanded by 2.0 percent.

The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected positive contributions from PCE, federal government spending, residential investment, exports, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from nonresidential fixed investment and private inventory investment. Meanwhile, imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, rose.

The acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter reflected a smaller drop in private inventory investment and upturns in exports and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by decelerations in PCE, federal government spending, and state and local government spending, and a larger decline in nonresidential fixed investment.