Atlanta Fed Raises GDP Growth View to 3 Percent

The U.S. economy is expanding at a 3.0 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, following the latest data on manufacturing activity and construction spending, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow forecast model showed on Thursday.

This was faster than the initial 2.6 percent pace for fourth-quarter gross domestic product that the Atlanta Fed’s GDP program calculated on Oct. 29.

Construction spending was unchanged in September, compared with an upwardly revised 0.8 percent increase in August. Analysts had forecast a 0.1 percent increase for September.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management’s index on factory activity fell more than expected to 57.7 last month from 59.8 in September.

The GDPNow program projected fourth-quarter consumer spending growth and private fixed investment growth running at 2.9 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, from previous estimates of 2.8 percent and 3.9 percent.

The next GDPNow update is Friday, November 2.