The United States recorded a GDP growth of 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the fastest growth since the fourth quarter of 2021. According to preliminary data from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, this GDP growth from July to September is attributed to strong personal consumption.
In the second quarter of 2023, the U.S. economy grew by 2.1 percent, while economists had estimated an average growth of 4.3 percent for the third quarter. However, the American economy demonstrated economic resilience despite rising interest rates.
Personal consumption increased at an annualized rate of 4 percent, a significant jump from just 0.8 percent in the second quarter, with both goods and services showing solid growth. Business consumption, federal government spending, investments in residential construction, and exports also increased.
Next week, the focus will be on the meeting of the U.S. central bank the Fed, which will decide on the further direction of monetary policy and interest rate levels. So far, the Fed has aimed to curb inflation by raising interest rates and returning it to the targeted level of 2 percent without a sharp economic downturn, reports the Financial Times.
