Latest US GDP Numbers Confirm Consumer-Led Expansion but Government and Exports were Weaker than Previously Thought

The second revision of GDP data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis confirmed that the U.S. economy expanded at a moderate 2.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2013. The figure for overall growth was almost unchanged from the 2.5 percent of last month’s advance estimate. However, there were significant changes in several of the components of GDP growth, as the following table shows.



Growth of consumer spending was even stronger than previously reported. In fact, we could say that consumers accounted for all of the reported growth, since pluses and minuses in other sectors just cancelled each other out. Increases in consumer spending were broad-based, with durable goods, nondurable goods, and services all showing solid gains. >>>Read more

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