The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster than expected period in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Gross domestic product rose at a 4.4% annualized pace for the July-through-September period, up 0.1 percentage point from the prior estimate and better than the 3.8% in the second quarter, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation.
The uptick reflected higher revisions in consumer spending, exports, government and investment. Also, imports decreased amid the ongoing global tariff skirmish between the U.S. and its trading partners.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity, rose at a 3.5% rate for the quarter. Final sales to domestic purchasers, a proxy for demand across the $31 trillion economy, accelerated at a 6.3% rate, the highest since Q3 of 2023.
The stellar year for U.S. growth is expected to continue through the fourth quarter. The Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow running tracker of incoming data is putting the Q4 figure at 5.4%.
A stock market boom and still-high home prices have cushioned upper-income households against inflation while lower- and middle-income households face a limited ability to substitute purchases, economists said.
Similarly, large companies have sufficient resources to offset the rising costs from import duties, they added. In contrast, small businesses are barely staying above water, and are also struggling with a reduction in low-cost labor supply amid an immigration crackdown, economists said.
Sources : Reuter