Importance:

Definition: Government spending represents about 17% of the GDP, covering spending on defense, roads, schools, etc; government consumption  is much less than private consumption that represents about 56% of the GDP.

Related Indicators:

Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis,. NIPA dataset.

Frequency: Quarterly, revised monthly. The consumption for a given quarter is released together with the GDP figures  in the first month following a quarter as the "advance estimate". The "preliminary estimate" is published in the second month, followed by the "revised" estimate in the third month.

Availability: Three to four weeks following the reported quarter
 
Direction:

Timing:

Volatility:

Likely Impact on Financial Markets:

Interest Rates: Larger-than-expected quarterly increase or increasing trend is considered inflationary, causing bond prices to drop and yields and interest rates to rise.

Stock Prices: ….

Exchange Rates: ....

Analysis of the Indicator:

The GDP report also includes inflation information: the implicit deflator, which measures price changes and changes in spending patterns, and the fixed-weight price deflator, which measures price changes for an established basket of over 5,000 goods and services.

Bad news is good news for the bond market. A weak GDP is received favorably by bond investors; a strong report causes concern the Fed might need to intervene and raise interest rates--a negative for the fixed income market.
 

WEB Links

Graphs of the latest consumption and savings data from The Economic Statistics Briefing Room of the White House

A table with the most recent Government Consumption and GDP data from the BEA

The latest GDP report from BEA includes an analysis of the government consumption trends in the latest quarter

You can see government consumption charts with theEconomic Chart Dispenser

You can create customized government consumption charts with the Economic Chart Maker  Tip: type "CONSUMPTION" in the Label section of the form and choose the transformation of the data you are interested in.

An analysis of the latest GDP report from First Union

An Analysis of the GDP report from Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach
 
Net exports account for the balance or about 13% of the GDP. Imports deduct from GDP and exports add to the figure. In recent years, the U. S. has consistently experienced net imports, with imports exceeding exports.