|
2009 Economic Calendar |
|
POWERED BY
|
|
|
Resource Center » U.S. & Intl Recaps | Release Dates | Event Definitions | Today's Calendar
|
|
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest measure of aggregate economic activity and encompasses every sector of the economy. Why Investors Care
| Released on 12/21/05 For Q3 Final 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Highlights
Third-quarter GDP was revised two tenths lower to an annual growth rate of 4.1%, largely reflecting a downward revision in auto spending. The 4.1% growth rate, fed by robust business investment and strong consumer spending, is very strong and is up from a 3.3% rate in the second quarter.
The biggest news in the report was upward revisions to price readings, including a 3 tenths revision to the GDP deflator to 3.3% reflecting higher prices for single-family homes under construction. The core PCE price index, closely followed by Federal Reserve policy makers, was revised up 2 tenths but is still at a very tame 1.4%.
The economy hummed along nicely in the third quarter, showing no significant disruptions from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Bonds did dip slightly in reaction to the price data but there was no reaction elsewhere. The next GDP reading is certain to make a splash. It will be the first reading on the fourth-quarter, to be released Friday, Jan. 27.
Last month, the Commerce Department estimated that real GDP expanded at a 4.3 percent rate in the third quarter of 2005 with healthy gains in consumption expenditures and investment spending. By the third release of these quarterly figures, revisions are usually small since only small segments of the report are missing.
Real GDP Consensus Forecast for Q3 05: 4.3 percent annual rate
Range: 4.0 to 4.5 percent annual rate
GDP deflator Consensus Forecast for Q3 05: 3.0 percent annual rate
Range: none
![[Chart]](chart.gif)
|
Real GDP growth is always quoted at a quarterly annual rate. It measures how much the economy has grown over a three-month period. Quarterly growth rates are often volatile; consequently, economists also like to look at the year-over-year growth in GDP. The yearly changes tend to be more stable. |
![[Chart]](chart_1.gif)
|
It is common to compare quarterly changes at annual rates in the GDP deflator. These can be volatile, just like the quarterly swings in real GDP growth; as a result, the trend in inflation is better determined by year- over- year changes. |
| 2005 Release Schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
powered by
![[Econoday]](../../../../../../../../../images/logo.gif){kind=logo}