Revised US Q3 GDP estimate jumps on exports

29 November 2007 18:56  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US GDP increased 4.9% in the third quarter, a stronger performance than initially estimated, spurred partly by a jump in the export of goods and services, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said on Thursday.

The BEA last month estimated third-quarter GDP at 3.9%, but additional data sources boosted that figure, up significantly from second-quarter GDP growth of 3.8%.

"The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from exports, personal consumption expenditures [PCE], private inventory investment, equipment and software, federal government spending, nonresidential structures, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a negative contribution from residential fixed investment,” the BEA said. “Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased."

Gasoline fuel oil and other energy goods made a negative contribution to the GDP estimate, detracting .02 percentage points in the third quarter, whereas those goods had detracted 0.12 percentage points in the second quarter.

Electricity and gas in household operations added 0.17% in the third quarter, compared with 0.02% in the second quarter.

Overall, US corporate profits fell by $19.3bn (€12.9bn) in the third quarter, while they had increased by $94.7bn, the BEA said.

Internal funds available to corporations for investment, a figure known as the current-production cash flow, decreased by $22.1bn in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $37.4bn in the second quarter.

However, corporate profits from chemical-related industries were up in the third quarter.

The chemical products industry saw profits of $41.8bn in the third quarter, compared with $41bn in the second quarter.

The coal and petroleum products industry saw profits soar to $136.5bn, compared with $94.9bn in the previous quarter.

($1.00 = €0.67)

By: Mickey McCarter
+1 713 525 2653

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