The Zhitong Finance App learned that preliminary data released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday showed that the US real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026 at an annual rate, which is significantly faster than 2.2% in the second quarter, and also higher than the 3.2% expected by the market, indicating a recovery in economic momentum.
Domestic demand is still strong, and exports are being dragged down
In terms of items, the economic growth in the third quarter was mainly due to an increase in investment, consumer spending, and government spending, which was partly offset by a decline in exports; imports increased, while imports were a reduction in GDP calculations.
A key measure of domestic demand — actual final sales (consumer spending plus private fixed investment) to domestic private buyers increased by 4.9%, up from 4.6% in the second quarter, indicating that private sector demand is still resilient.
Specifically, the increase in investment mainly reflects increased private inventory investment and equipment expenditure, with equipment growth dominated by information processing equipment (mainly computers and peripherals). As consumption grows, the service side is driven by healthcare (mainly hospital and outpatient services) and catering and lodging, while the commodity side is driven by other non-durable goods such as prescription drugs. The increase in government spending is mainly due to an increase in federal non-defense consumer spending, which is related to a decrease in sales of strategic oil reserves compared to the second quarter; however, since oil sold by the government is included in other components of GDP, this has no direct impact on total GDP. The decline in exports was mainly due to a decrease in petroleum and related products, while the increase in imports came mainly from capital goods other than automobiles.
Inflationary pressure has abated markedly
In terms of prices, the domestic purchase price index rose 3.0%, down from 5.6% in the second quarter; the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index rose 2.1%, down from 5.0% in the second quarter; and the core PCE price index excluding food and energy rose 2.5%, down from 3.3% in the second quarter.
Presented this time are preliminary estimates. BEA will release the second GDP estimate and corporate profit data for the third quarter on November 25, 2026. The data will be revised at that time.