The economy grew by 5.6% at a real annualized rate in the final three months of last year, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported this morning. Today’s update is the third and final estimate of Q4 2009 GDP. The first estimate was 5.7%; the second was 5.9%. Although the final number has been revised down from the previous estimates, the 5.6% gain in GDP for the last three months of 2009 is the highest pace since the 6.9% gain in Q3 2003.
The government’s initial estimate of this year’s first quarter GDP is scheduled for release on April 30. “GDP isn’t expected to have gone up by as much in the first three months of 2010” compared with Q4 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported today. Early estimates for 2010’s first quarter GDP range from 2.5% to 3.0%, according to the article.