U.S. gross domestic product rose by an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the third quarter of 2017, a higher-than-expected rate in the wake of hurricanes that hit Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.
Analysts were expecting a 2.5 percent increase, and even President Trump was expecting growth under 3 percent because of the storms.
The Commerce Department said its advance estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter was the result of higher personal spending and investment, and federal government spending.
Commerce said personal income increased $113.7 billion in the third quarter, a bit lower than the $119.1 billion increase in the second quarter. But the savings rate fell from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent between the second and third quarters.
The U.S. is now in the eighth year of the economic recovery from the 2008-9 recession. Consumer prices rose by 1.8 percent in the third quarter, up from 0.9 percent in the second.
