Real GDP for the third quarter of 2016 grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s revised estimate, up slightly from the advance estimate of 2.9%. The general picture of economic growth remained the same. The increase in the estimate was mostly due to personal consumption expenditures being larger than previously estimated.
The change in GDP reflected an upward revision to personal consumption expenditures that was partly offset by downward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment and private inventory investment.
The upward revision to consumer spending reflected upward revisions to both goods and services. The revision to goods was mostly to “other” nondurable goods and to motor vehicles and parts.
The downward revision to inventory investment reflected downward revisions to construction, mining, utilities, and manufacturing. The nonresidential fixed investment downward revision was due to downward revisions to equipment and to intellectual property products, which were partly offset by an upward revision to nonresidential structures.
Read the GDP release.