WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The growth of the US economy in the third quarter has been revised up slightly but it shows a significant slowdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, final gross domestic product (GDP ) published by the Department of Commerce.
US GDP grew 2.3% on an annualized basis from the previous three months, a figure revised upwards from the previous estimate, released last month, of 2.1%.
Economists polled by Reuters were forecasting an average figure of 2.1%, after growth of 6.7% in the second quarter, still at an annualized rate, linked to the rebound in the economy following a historic contraction in a context of sanitary restrictions.
The recovery continues, however, with the US economy on track to post its best performance this year since 1984. Consumer spending rose sharply in October and the manufacturing sector was dynamic. The trade deficit also narrowed sharply in October, with exports reaching a record level. The unemployment rate, for its part, fell to a 21-month low, at 4.2%.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, growth in the United States could reach 5.6% this year, which would be the fastest pace in 37 years. The US economy contracted 3.4% in 2020.
The slowdown in growth in the third quarter is linked to shortages amid tensions in supply chains around the world and declining public support to businesses and households in the face of the pandemic.
Hurricane Ida, which hit the southern United States at the end of August, causing disruptions in offshore energy production, also weighed on growth.
Wall Street index futures for the S & P-500 edged down losses slightly after the GDP statistic was released.
(Report Lucia Mutikani; French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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