Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the US real GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.0% in Q1 2026, up from 0.5% in the previous quarter, driven by investment, exports, and government spending. Inflation remained elevated, with the PCE price index rising 4.5%, signaling moderate growth alongside persistent price pressures. The BEA writes:
The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the first quarter were investment, exports, consumer spending, and government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, also increased.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, the acceleration in real GDP in the first quarter of 2026 reflected upturns in government spending and exports, and an acceleration in investment that were partly offset by a deceleration in consumer spending. Imports turned up.
Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, increased 2.5 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.6 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 4.5 percent, compared with an increase of 2.9 percent, and the PCE price index excluding food and energy increased 4.3 percent, compared with an increase of 2.7 percent.
Real GDP and Related Measures
[Percent change (SAAR) from 2025:Q4 to 2026:Q1]
