Q3 GDP Revised Down to 2.8%

WSJ reports:

The U.S. economy's recovery wasn't as strong as earlier believed, the government said Tuesday, revising its third-quarter numbers to show a wider trade deficit and lower consumer spending than previously estimated.

Gross domestic product rose at a 2.8% annual rate July through September after falling by 0.7% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported. A month ago, the department first estimated that GDP rose by an annual 3.5% in the third quarter.

Although the data confirmed that the economy expanded for the first time in more than a year as the government's stimulus boosted consumer spending, the latest report showed that motor vehicles spending in September was lower than had been estimated.

Overall consumer spending rose a quarterly 2.9% in the third quarter and contributed 2.1 percentage points to GDP at annual rates, the new figures show. That compares to earlier estimates that spending had risen a quarterly 3.4% and contributed 2.4 percentage points to GDP.

Source: BEA