Weekly Economic Update: Real GDP Growth Revised Upward--Again!
Weekly Economic UpdateApril 2 - April 6, 2018 CHART OF THE WEEKReal GDP Growth Revised Upward--Again!Fourth-quarter GDP growth has been revised up from 2.5 to 2.9% by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Each quarter of growth in 2017 has now been revised upward and also outperformed the corresponding quarters in 2016, the final year of the Obama presidency. At 2.9%, fourth-quarter growth was more than a full percentage point higher than in 2016. In the final three quarters of 2017, GDP growth averaged 3%, a performance many pundits thought no longer possible. Chairman’s UpdateIn an op-ed for Investor’s Business Daily, Chairman Erik Paulsen wrote on the progress of the American economy: Look at the U.S. economy today: the first two months of 2018 have added 550,000 new jobs, which follows on the heels of the economic resurgence that began in 2017 with the creation of 2.2 million new jobs. What could account for such change? The answer is simple: Republicans' growth-oriented policies are getting government out of the way and once again allowing Americans to do what they do best. LAST WEEKNews & Commentary Weekly HighlightsWall Street Journal: U.S. GDP Growth Revised Up to 2.9% Rate in Fourth QuarterFortune: Free Markets and Free Trade Provide America’s Strength The Money Illusion: For the Fed, is it ‘Mission Impossible’ or ‘Mission Ill-Defined’? The Hill: Opioid crisis has cost US roughly 1M workers, $702B: study Top Economic Indicator HighlightsFinal Estimates for 2017-Q4 Real GDP Revised Upward Substantially Gross Domestic Product (Final Estimate) (Q4-2017, seasonally adjusted at annualized rates) Fourth-quarter real GDP growth was revised up to 2.9% from 2.5% due to greater consumer spending and a smaller inventory selloff than was earlier estimated.
Fed’s Key Inflation Indicator Ticks Up, Though Not Indicating Overheating Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Deflator (February 2018) Although the Fed’s main inflation metric ticked up in February, it still remains below the Fed’s target of 2% average inflation. Continued below-target inflation should slow the pace of Fed interest rate hikes.
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