GDP growth remains strong in second quarter

Remains steady at 4.2% annually

Real gross domestic product remained steady at an annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter of 2018, according to the revised, third estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Today's revised GDP estimate is based on more complete source data than was available for the advance estimate issued last month. The chart below shows GDP is now up two percentage points from the first quarter, as well as more than one percentage point from the second quarter of 2017.

GDP

(Source: BEA)

Real gross domestic income growth is up only 1.6% in the second quarter, compared to the 3.9% growth seen in the first quarter. The average of real GDP and real GDI, a supplemental measure of U.S. economic activity that equally weighs GDP and GDI, increased 2.9% in the second quarter, decreasing from 3.1% from the first quarter.

The increase in real GDP in the second quarter reflected positive contributions from non-residential fixed investment, federal government spending, personal consumption expenditures, exports, and state and local government spending.  

These were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment and residential fixed investment. Notably, imports also fell in percentage.

An update to GDP released by BEA shows that the second quarter real GDP was unrevised from the second estimate, which reflects upward revisions to private inventory investment, that were offset by upward revisions to state and local government spending, PCE and residential fixed investment, exports and residential fixed investment.

Here are updates to the previous estimate:

Real GDP: Remained unchanged at 4.2% at the third estimate

Current-dollar GDP: Remained unchanged at 7.6% at the third estimate

Real GDI: Decreased to 1.6%, down from last estimate’s 1.8%

Average of Real GDP and Real GDI: Decreased to 2.9%, down from last estimate’s 3%

Gross domestic purchases price index:  Increased to 2.4%, up from last estimate’s 2.3%

Personal consumption expenditures: Increased to 2%, up from last estimate’s 1.9%

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