U.S. economic growth rebounded during the third quarter after six months of steady declines, according to data released by the Commerce Department.
The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter up from declines of 1.6 percent in the second quarter and 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022, according to initial estimates.
President Biden welcomed the report. “For months, doomsayers have been arguing that the U.S. economy is in a recession, and congressional Republicans have been rooting for a downturn,” he said. “But today we got further evidence that our economic recovery is continuing to power forward.”
Economists had projected third-quarter growth of 2.4%, according to estimates. “This is the sort of GDP report we should be happy to see at this point in a recovery,” said Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in a note. “However, with the Federal Reserve continuing to hike rates, and most of the impact of past rate hikes yet to be felt, this could be the last good report we see for a while.”
The Federal Reserve has raised rates five times this year and is expected to make further moves as inflation remains high in the United States.
