Q3 growth revised slightly to 2.3%

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Growth in the U.S. economy slowed slightly in the third quarter, but the COVID-19 epidemic released by the trade sector showed a significant slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP).

US GDP grew by 2.3% year-on-year in the previous three months, revised from an earlier estimate of 2.1% released last month.

Economists, as voted by Reuters, forecast an average of 2.1% after growth of 6.7% in the second quarter, still linked to the economic recovery following a historic contraction in the context of health controls.

However, the recovery continues as the US economy has been on track to record its best performance since 1984 this year. Consumer spending rose sharply in October and the manufacturing sector is changing. The trade deficit narrowed sharply in October as exports hit record highs. The unemployment rate, for its part, fell to a 21-month low of 4.2%.

According to a Reuters survey of economists, growth in the United States will reach 5.6% this year, the fastest in 37 years. In 2020, the US economy will shrink by 3.4%.

The slowdown in growth in the third quarter was linked to deficits amid tensions in supply chains around the world and declining public support for businesses and families in the face of the epidemic.

Hurricane Ida, which struck South America in late August, disrupted marine energy production and weighed on growth.

The Wall Street Index for the S&P-500 futures fell slightly after the release of futures GDP figures.

(Reported by Lucia Muttigani; French edition edited by Claude Sentjo, Jean-Michel Pelott)