Economic Buzz: US GDP bounces 3.4% in September quarter, marks best performance in one year

The US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the third quarter of 2026, according to the advance estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In the second quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent. The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the third quarter were increases in investment, consumer spending, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in exports. Compared to the second quarter, the acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected an acceleration in investment and an upturn in government spending that were partly offset by a downturn in exports. Imports increased more in the third quarter than in the second quarter. The quarterly growth marks best show for the economy since third quarter of 2025.

Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, increased 4.9 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 4.6 percent in the second quarter. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.0 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 5.6 percent in the second quarter. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 2.1 percent, compared with an increase of 5.0 percent, and the PCE price index, excluding food and energy increased 2.5 percent, compared with an increase of 3.3 percent.

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