GDP up 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to advance estimate
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its advance estimate of growth in the inflation-adjusted (“real”) gross domestic product (GDP) for the 4th quarter of 2010. (available here)
According to the advance estimate, annualized GDP growth in the 4th quarter was 3.2%. Growth in the 3rd quarter was 2.6%, and 1.7% in the 2nd quarter of 2010. The BEA will release its second estimate for 4th quarter GDP growth on February 25th.
Highlights:
- The 3.2% rate of growth primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (+4.4%), nonresidential fixed investment (+4.4%), exports (+8.5%), and a decline in imports (a subtraction from GDP). These positive contributions were partly offset by a negative contribution from private inventory investment.
- The
acceleration in GDP growth, from a rate of 2.6% in the 3rd quarter,
was due to a steep decline in imports (which fell 13.6%, compared to an
increase of 16.8% in the 3rd quarter), acceleration in personal
consumption expenditures (up 4.4% compared to 2.4% in the 3rd
quarter), and an upturn in residential fixed investment (up 3.4% compared to a
3rd quarter decline of 27.3%). This momentum was partly offset
by downturns in private inventory investment and federal government spending
(down 0.6%), as well as a deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment (up
4.4% compared to 10.0% in the 3rd
quarter).
- The change in real private inventories subtracted 3.7 percentage points from the 4th quarter change in GDP, compared to a positive contribution of 1.6 percentage points in the 3rd quarter.