(CNN) –– The US economy grew last quarter, recovering after contracting in the first half of the year.
Gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity — rose at an annualized rate of 2.6% during the third quarter, according to initial estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.
The figure represents growth from the 1.6% drop recorded on primer quarter of the year and a negative 0.6% in the second quarter.
Experts had projected 2.4% growth in the US economy for the third quarter, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.
The welcome economic growth was mainly driven by a rebalancing of imports and exports, with fewer foreign goods shipped to the United States, as consumers stopped spending on sofas, bikes and other durable goods amid the pandemic and turned to buying travel. and go out to restaurants.
“This is the kind of GDP report that should cheer us up at this point in a recovery,” Dean Baker at the Center for Economic and Policy Research said in a note.
“However, as the Federal Reserve continues to raise rates and most of the impact of previous hikes has yet to be felt, this could be the last positive report we see for a while,” he added.