US GDP rose 1.5% in Q3, a touch below the consensus expectations

United States GDP rose 1.5% (annualised) in Q3, slightly less than the consensus expectation (1.6%), and much lower than Q2's 3.9%. There were not many surprises in the data: personal consumption added 2.2ppts, inventories subtracted 1.5ppts, business investment added 0.3ppts, as did government, and housing added 0.2ppts. 

The main takeaway is that apart from the big inventory drag, the underlying picture is healthy. To wit, real final sales came in at 3.0%, decent vs 3.9% in Q2. This is not as weak as it could have been.