(1) U.S. GDP Growth in Q3 Similar to Q2 and Slower than in Q1

With private investment, particularly in nonresidential structures, and net exports of goods and services acting as drags, U.S. ‘real’ (i.e., adjusted-for-inflation) gross domestic product (GDP) growth turned in a relatively quiet performance in 2019’s Q3, +2.1% annualized. The +2.1% result was the tiniest bit better than Q2’s +2.0% but was a slowing from Q1’s +3.1%.

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which now account for more than two-thirds of GDP, continued to rise faster than total output in Q3 (i.e., +2.9% for PCE versus +2.1% for GDP), but the margin of difference diminished considerably from the previous quarter (i.e., in Q2, PCE was +4.6% to GDP’s +2.0%).

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