The US Commerce Department on Tuesday showed that the country’s economy grew faster in the third quarter, expanding at a strong 3.9 percent annual rate against initially thought.
According to the officials, the latest figure was not expected as it was better than the 3.5 percent annual rate that the government had reported in its first estimate in October.
The current figure has also turned down the estimates of the economists who had forecasted the growth rate would be revised down to 3.3 percent.
The growth in third-quarter was still down from the 4.6 percent pace in the second quarter, but the drop was pretty expected as much of the spring activity that came from the restricted demand after the country’s economy contracted sharply during a winter marked by severe weather conditions.
The officials at the Commerce Department said that the stronger consumer spending was a major factor in the upward revision of third-quarter growth.
The spending also rose 2.2 percent in the third quarter, better than the 1.8 percent surge in the first growth estimate.
The growth of consumer spending slowed down in the third quarter after rising 2.5 percent in the second quarter.
The Commerce Department said several other factors in the revision of the third-quarter were a smaller than initially estimated decline in the inventories of private businesses and a larger surge in nonresidential investment.
The federal government spending also played a vital role in the growth of third-quarter, rising 9.9 percent. Those expenditures also declined by 0.9 percent in the second quarter.
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