US Economy Grows By Record 33.1% In Q3, After Steepest-Ever Plunge - Commerce Dept.

The US economy grew at a record pace of 33.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020 after the steepest ever drop of 31.4 percent in the previous three months due to lockdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commerce Department said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) The US economy grew at a record pace of 33.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020 after the steepest ever drop of 31.4 percent in the previous three months due to lockdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

"Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter of 2020," according to the 'advance' estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis," the department said in a news release.

The rebound came above the average growth of 31 percent forecast by economists polled by US media.

Despite that, the economic outlook for the United States remains dismal due to a rash of new coronavirus infections reported across the country, with nearly 9 million COVID-19 cases and almost 228,000 fatalities to date, according to Johns Hopkins University.

New lockdowns imposed by Germany and France are also likely to dampen the global trade, putting further strain on the United States.

US GDP fell 5 percent in the first three months of the year. The combined hit of nearly 37 percent in the first quarters was the worst ever for the United States since the Great Depression era of the 1920s.

The third quarter rebound reflected continued efforts to reopen businesses and resume activities that were postponed or restricted due to COVID-19, the Commerce Department said.

The higher GDP was led by increases in personal consumption expenditures, private inventory investment, exports, nonresidential fixed investment and residential fixed investment.