GDP Advance Q4 Estimates show GDP increased by 5.7%, the highest such figure since the third quarter of 2003, more than the expected 4.7% increase, after increasing by 2.2% in the third quarter and contracting by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2009. Growth in the last two quarters was preceded by a record four quarters of economic decline. The economy contracted by 2.4% in 2009, the worst single-year performance since the 10/9% drop in 1946. The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from private inventory investment, exports and personal consumption expenditures. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. The acceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an acceleration in private inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an upturn in residential fixed investment that were partially offset by decelerations in federal government spending and in personal consumption expenditures.
Upcoming Releases
Personal Consumption Expenditures (02/01 at 8:30 AM EST)
ISM Manufacturing Index (02/01 at 10:00 AM EST)
Construction Spending (02/01 at 10:00 AM EST)
Pending Home Sales (02/02 at 10:00 AM EST)
