The United States economy expanded at an annualised pace of 3.4 percent in the third quarter of 2026, accelerating sharply from 2.2 percent in the second quarter and beating the 3.2 percent consensus forecast, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis advance estimate. It was the fastest quarterly growth pace in a year. The stronger growth came even as inflation ticked higher, a combination that keeps the Federal Reserve’s next move in focus: faster growth supports jobs and incomes, but persistent price pressure makes rate cuts harder to justify. Markets and policymakers will now watch the revised estimates and the monthly inflation and jobs data to see whether the third-quarter pace holds. For the rest of the world, including Pakistan, US growth matters through trade, the dollar and interest rates. A resilient American economy tends to keep the dollar firm and global borrowing costs higher for longer, which is why a single US growth number is read far beyond Washington. Sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (via MarketFlux), Saachi Baat. Written in our own words for information only.