US: Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.2% in Q3 of 2017

"Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2017, according to the "third" estimate" the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways

In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.1 percent.

Real gross domestic income (GDI) increased 2.0 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 2.3 percent in the second. 

The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, federal
government spending, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a negative contribution from residential fixed investment.

Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

Current-dollar GDP increased 5.3 percent, or $250.6 billion, in the third quarter to a level of $19,500.6 billion. 

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 0.9 percent in the second quarter.

The PCE price index increased 1.5 percent, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 1.3 percent, compared with an increase of 0.9 percent.