U.S. Economic Growth Unrevised At 2.8% In Third Quarter

(RTTNews) - The jump by U.S. economic activity in the third quarter was unrevised compared to the previous estimate, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product surged by 2.8 percent in the third quarter, unchanged versus the "advance" estimate issued last month. The unrevised reading matched expectations.

The report said upward revisions to private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment were offset by downward revisions to exports and consumer spending.

The unrevised increase by GDP in the third quarter still reflects a modest slowdown from the 3.0 percent jump in the second quarter.

The deceleration by GDP growth in the third quarter primarily reflected a downturn in private inventory investment and a larger decrease in residential fixed investment.

These movements were partly offset by accelerations in exports, consumer spending, and federal government spending, the Commerce Department said.

"A strong economy argues in favor of more gradual rate cuts than the 50bps that kicked off the Fed's easing cycle," said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin. "With healthy GDP growth and solid labor market, Fed officials are now vigilant that cutting too quickly will stimulate inflation."

With regard to inflation, the Commerce Department said the pace of consumer price growth in the third quarter was unrevised at 1.5 percent, which reflects a notable slowdown from the 2.5 percent jump in the second quarter.

The increase by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, was downwardly revised by 0.1 percentage point to 2.1 percent. Core consumer prices surged 2.8 percent in the second quarter.