Second Quarter GDP Revised Upward

The second-quarter did show a big bounce after all, up at a revised annualized growth rate of 3.7 percent which is 5 tenths over the Econoday consensus and just tops the high estimate of 3.6 percent. The initial estimate for second-quarter GDP was 2.3 percent. Consumer demand was strong with personal consumption expenditures at a 3.1 percent rate led by an 8.2 percent rate for durables, a gain that was tied to vehicle spending. Residential investment was very strong, at plus 7.8 percent, as was nonresidential fixed investment which, boosted by an upward revision to structures, came in at plus 3.2 percent. Inventories contributed to second-quarter growth as did improvement in net exports. Final demand proved very solid, at plus 3.5 percent. This report points to better-than-expected momentum going into the current quarter.

Recent History Of This Indicator: Real GDP is expected to be revised higher to plus 3.2 percent in the second estimate from an initial estimate of 2.3 percent. The revision is expected to reflect upward revisions to retail sales and a large build in June business inventories.