GDP Rose by Only 0.7% in Q4 2015, According to BEA Advance Estimate

Washington, DC, January 29, 2016—Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.0%.

The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate released is based on

source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The second estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on February 26, 2016.

The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), residential fixed investment, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

The deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected a deceleration in PCE and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment, in exports, and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by a smaller decrease in private inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an acceleration in federal government spending.

Real gross domestic purchases increased 1.1% in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 2.2% in the third.