File photo: Shipping cranes and containers at a U.S. port representing exports and imports factored in overall gross domestic product, or GDP. (Photo: REUTERS)
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that a second reading on 3Q gross domestic product showed the U.S. economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.1%, up from a prior reading of 1.5%. The reading matched Wall Street expectations, and puts expansion for the world’s biggest economy around 2% in the second half of the year.
Businesses accumulated $90.2 billion worth of inventory in the third quarter, up from the $56.8 billion reported last month. As a result, the change in inventories sliced off 0.59 percentage point from third-quarter GDP growth, rather than the 1.44 percentage points initially reported in October.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, grew at a 3.0 percent rate, down from 3.2%. The downward current revision was fueled by communication services and utilities.
