Consumer Spending: Trade Sector and Business Investments

consumer spending: This is above the government's prior estimate of 3.2% due to upward revisions in consumer spending and business investment, according to Market Watch. Economists polled by Market Watch had expected GDP to be revised to growth of 3.3%. Consumer spending, which added 2 percentage points to GDP, rose at a 3% annual rate, up from the prior estimate of 2.8%. Business investments rose at a revised 1.4% rate, much stronger than the previous estimate of a 0.1% rise. The Commerce Department said the economy expanded at a seasonally adjusted 3.5% annualized rate in the third quarter. The trade sector was a big positive for growth in the third quarter. Read This little bean could lead to big third-quarter GDP The data signal that the manufacturing, trade, and energy sectors stabilized during the quarter after nearly two years of contraction, said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays. Exports spiked 10% helped by a temporary boom in U.S. soybean shipments. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.