US Economy Grew 3.4% in Third Quarter as September Inflation Quickened, Commerce Dept. Says

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday in a preliminary estimate. That was faster than the 2.2 percent pace in the second quarter and above economists' forecasts, which CNBC put at 3.1 percent and Fox Business at 3.2 percent. Inflation also picked up: the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.5 percent in September and was up 3.6 percent from a year earlier, while core PCE rose 0.3 percent for the month and 3.1 percent annually. Those readings largely matched forecasts. Consumer spending rose 0.5 percent and personal income 0.2 percent, both slightly under forecasts, according to CNBC. The reports followed Wednesday's Federal Reserve vote to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75 percent to 4 percent, with two dissenting votes noted. The Fed's inflation target is 2 percent. The BEA will publish two more revisions to the third-quarter figure.

The New York Times, the left-leaning source here, leads with the fastest growth in a year and sets strong spending against the poor marks many voters give the economy, focusing on public perception rather than detailed components. Breitbart, on the right, leads with growth and gives the most granular breakdown: business investment up 12.7 percent, equipment investment up 20.4 percent, consumer spending up 3.8 percent, and underlying private demand up 4.9 percent. It also notes that much of the government-spending increase was an accounting effect of reduced Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil sales. Fox Business, also right-leaning, instead leads with inflation. Both sides agree on the 3.4 percent figure and its beat of expectations. They differ in emphasis: the left connects it to voter sentiment, while the right stresses investment and demand, or inflation and the Fed. The Hill and CNBC, classed as alternative, add the AI investment boom and the inflation and rate context.