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Markets · October 29, 2026 · 2 min read

U.S. GDP grows at 3.4% annual rate in third-quarter advance estimate

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published October 29, 2026 • Updated October 29, 2026

BEA reports faster growth than the second quarter's 2.2% pace. Private domestic final sales rose 4.9%, while the PCE price index increased at a 2.1% annual rate.

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4% annual rate in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis advance estimate released October 29. Growth accelerated from 2.2% in the second quarter. At a non-annualized quarterly rate, real GDP rose 0.8%. Investment, consumer spending and government spending contributed to growth. Exports decreased, while imports increased. Imports are subtracted in GDP accounting, so a rise in imports is not itself an addition to domestic output. Compared with the second quarter, faster investment and an upturn in government spending helped explain the acceleration. A downturn in exports partly offset those changes. BEA says imports increased more than in the preceding quarter. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers rose at a 4.9% annual rate, following 4.6% growth in the second quarter. This measure combines consumer spending and gross private fixed investment. It excludes inventory investment, government spending and net exports. The gross domestic purchases price index rose at a 3.0% annual rate, down from 5.6%. The personal consumption expenditures price index increased 2.1%, after 5.0%, and its measure excluding food and energy increased 2.5%, after 3.3%. These are quarterly annualized rates, not year-over-year inflation readings. This is an advance estimate rather than a final measure of the quarter. BEA schedules the second estimate and third-quarter corporate profits for November 25 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The release does not by itself establish a change in Federal Reserve policy or a particular market reaction.

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