Guest Post: Q3 GDP - The Devil Is In The Details

Submitted by Lance Roberts of Street Talk Live, The good news this morning is that the 2nd estimate of the third quarter (3Q) GDP was revised up from 2.0% initially to 2.7%.  This is up sharply from the 2Q print of 1.3%.  As usual we will dig down into the numbers and look at the changes in the data but it is important to note that, as pointed out by Zero Hedge, Hurricane Sandy had NO EFFECT on the 3Q number as that event did not occur until the end of the 1st month of 4Q.  The first chart below shows the gross change in the main components used for the calculation of GDP from Q2 to Q3.   The jump of $89.6 billion in 3Q was driven by a $33.4 billion increase in Personal Consumption (C), a $30.9 billion rise in Private Investment (I), $4.4 billion in Net Exports (X-M) and $21.3 billion in Government Spending (G).   The next chart shows the percentage contributi...