The U.S. economy posted a stronger-than-expected growth rate in the third quarter of this year, driven by expanded artificial intelligence-related investment and robust consumer spending.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 29th, local time, that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the third quarter was tallied at an annualized rate of 3.4% compared to the previous quarter.

This figure surpasses the market expectation of 3.1%.

Compared to the 2.2% growth rate in the second quarter, it is 1.2 percentage points higher, marking the highest growth rate in a year since 3.9% in the third quarter of last year.

Analysts interpret that despite the shock of high oil prices due to the Middle East war, expanded AI-related corporate investment and solid consumption supported the growth trend.

The Department of Commerce explained, "Investment, consumer spending, and increased government spending contributed to the third-quarter GDP growth, while a decline in exports dragged down the growth rate somewhat."

Private domestic investment surged by 19.4% in the third quarter, significantly expanding its growth pace compared to 4.6% in the second quarter.

In particular, the growth rate of equipment investment rose from 13.4% in the second quarter to 20.9% in the third quarter.

Within equipment investment, the increase in information processing equipment such as computers and peripheral devices was prominent.

Personal consumption expenditures, which account for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased by 3.8% in the third quarter, maintaining the same growth rate as the second quarter.

While the growth rate of goods consumption slowed from 4.5% to 3.0%, the growth rate of service consumption increased from 3.4% to 4.1%.

Government consumption expenditures and gross investment turned from a 0.1% decline in the second quarter to a 5.3% increase in the third quarter.

The Department of Commerce explained that an increase in federal non-defense spending led the rebound in government spending.

However, net exports, which are exports minus imports, acted as a factor that partially dragged down the third-quarter growth rate.

Exports shifted from a 5.0% increase in the second quarter to a 5.7% decrease in the third quarter, while the import growth rate rose from 12.6% to 19.7%.

Meanwhile, the growth rate of private domestic final sales, which shows the fundamental strength of the U.S. economy, rose to 4.9% in the third quarter, up from 4.6% in the second quarter.

Andrew Husby, a senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, evaluated, "This indicator shows that the fundamental conditions of the U.S. economy are quite sound," adding, "It also reaffirms that AI infrastructure building and its positive spillover effects are supporting the economy."

(Photo: Yonhap News)