4th-quarter GDP raised to 2.9% from 2.5% [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Mar 28, 2018, 01:55 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: MarketWatch

4th-quarter GDP raised to 2.9% from 2.5%

Published: Mar 28, 2018 9:50 a.m. ET

by Jeffrey Bartash

Consumer spending rose at fastest pace in three years

The numbers: The pace of growth in the economy in the fourth quarter of 2017 was boosted to 2.9% from 2.5%, reflecting the biggest increase in consumer spending in three years and higher investment in business inventories.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast an annualized 2.8% reading in the governments latest revision of gross domestic product.

The U.S. fell just short of a closely watched 3% growth marker after racking up gains of 3.2% in the 2017 third quarter and 3.1% in the second quarter. It would have been the first time since 2004-2005 that the economy expanded 3% in three straight quarters.

Corporate earnings in the fourth quarter were effectively flat.
....

Real GDP increased 2.3 percent in 2017 (that is, from the 2016 annual level to the 2017 annual level), compared with an increase of 1.5 percent in 2016 (table 1).

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/4th-quarter-gdp-raised-to-29-from-25-2018-03-28

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Gross Domestic Product, 4th quarter and annual 2017 (third estimate); Corporate Profits, 4th quarter and annual 2017 https://ift.tt/2J3tCII

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https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2018/gdp4q17_3rd.htm

EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT, Wednesday, March 28, 2018 BEA 1814

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

National Income and Product Accounts
Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2017 (Third Estimate)
Corporate Profits: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2017

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 (table 1), according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "second" estimate issued last month. In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.5 percent. With this third estimate for the fourth quarter, the general picture of economic growth remains the same; personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and private inventory investment were revised up (see "Updates to GDP" on page 2).