23
Nov
US economy grew 'faster than thought'
The US economy grew at a faster pace than initially thought,
figures show.
The economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.5% in the
July-to-September period, up from an earlier estimate of 2%, the
Commerce Department said.
Earlier this month, the US Federal Reserve said it would pump
$600bn (£373bn) into the economy to try to boost the economic
recovery.
Stronger spending by US shoppers, particularly on cars and "big
ticket" items, contributed to the upgrade.
A rise in exports also helped boost growth.
But the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at 9.6%.
'Sales momentum'
The upwards revision was slightly bigger than analysts had
forecast, with most expecting a figure of 2.4%.
The third quarter's growth marked a rise from the 1.7% seen in
the second quarter.
Nigel Gault, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight, said the
revision was "good news".
"It's better than expected. A little bit more momentum in
sales," he said. "There was more business spending on software,
that was one of the surprises, and consumer spending was better
than expected.
"I thought inventories were going to be revised up, but they
weren't. You had positive surprises in spending to outweigh
inventories. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the fourth
quarter."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business