Categories: Politics

U.S. third-quarter growth revised up to 3.6 percent

401(K) 2013

U.S. third-quarter growth revised up to 3.6 percent (Reuters)

The U.S. economy grew faster than initially estimated in the third quarter as businesses aggressively boosted inventory, but underlying domestic demand remained sluggish and buoyed the case for the Federal Reserve to keep up its stimulus for now. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 3.6 percent annual rate instead of the 2.8 percent pace reported earlier, the Commerce Department announced this morning. Economists polled by Reuters had expected output would be revised up to only a 3.0 percent rate. The third-quarter growth pace was the fastest since the first quarter of 2012 and quickened from the April-June period’s 2.5 percent rate, even though economists expect slower growth in the final months of the year. Businesses accumulated $116.5 billion worth of inventories, the largest increase since the first quarter of 1998. That rise compared to prior estimates of only $86 billion. Inventories accounted for a massive 1.68 percentage points of the advance made in the July-September quarter, the largest contribution since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.