U.S. Q3 GDP Growth Rises to 3.4%, Beating 3.2% Estimate

U.S. economic growth accelerated in the third quarter, with gross domestic product rising at a 3.4% annualized rate and topping the 3.2% estimate after a prior value of 2.2%.

The 3.4% figure is the advance estimate for seasonally adjusted quarter-over-quarter growth, expressed at an annual rate. The 3.2% figure is the expectation for the same reading, while the earlier value was 2.2%.

The estimate was 0.2 percentage point above the expectation and 1.2 percentage points above the previous reading. An annualized rate expresses a quarter's growth pace as though it continued for a full year. The figure still measures quarter-over-quarter growth after seasonal adjustment, rather than year-over-year growth.

The number is an advance estimate, meaning it is the initial GDP reading for the third quarter. Its 3.4% rate is the headline result, while 3.2% and 2.2% provide the expectation and prior reading used for comparison. Together, those figures show that the initial result exceeded both the expected level and the earlier value.