Over the first three quarters of this year, real GDP is currently estimated to have advanced at an annual rate of 2–1/4 percent, close to its average pace over the previous five years. Many economic forecasters expect growth roughly along those same lines in the fourth quarter.
Growth this year has been held down by weak net exports, which have subtracted more than 1/2 percentage point, on average, from the annual rate of real GDP growth over the past three quarters.