Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Stories

Q1 2026 GDP release lands amid sharpest forecaster split of the cycle

Publisher of the Q1 2026 advance GDP estimate and Personal Income and Outlays report

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its first estimate of US economic growth for the first three months of 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, alongside the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. Forecasters diverged more than at any point in the cycle: Atlanta Fed's real-time nowcast is 1.2% annualized, traders on the prediction market Polymarket predicted 2.0%-3.0%.

Updated May 31

US economy decelerates as longest government shutdown drags on growth

Money Moves

Released delayed Q4 GDP report; subsequent releases also rescheduled

The United States economy grew at an annualized rate of just 1.4% in the final quarter of 2025—a steep drop from 4.4% the quarter before and well below the 2.5% that forecasters expected. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates that the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in American history, subtracted roughly one full percentage point from growth by itself. Federal spending fell at a 16.6% annualized rate during the quarter, dragging headline output down by more than a percentage point even as consumer spending and business investment continued to expand.

Updated May 29