US GDP revised up to 3.9% in third quarter

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.9% in the third quarter of the year, according to the second estimate from the Department of Commerce.

The revised estimate, published today, points to higher GDP growth than the 3.5% first estimate reported last month. The increase reflects a less significant fall in private inventory investment than expected, and higher personal consumption expenditures and non-residential fixed investment than previously reported. In Q2, the US economy grew by 4.6%, making growth over the six months to end of September the strongest since 2003. The six-month growth spurt follows a 2.9% contraction in Q1, which was blamed on a period of bad weather which affected the country at the start of the ye...