Thread: U.S. economy grows at the fastest pace since 2014

U.S. economy grows at the fastest pace since 2014

Myles Udland
July 27, 2018

The second quarter was big for the U.S. economy.

In the second quarter the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.1%, almost double the 2.2% growth rate seen to start the year.

This rate of growth, however, was less than what was forecasted by economists. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected the report to show the economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.2% in the second three months of the year.

This marks the fastest pace of growth for the U.S. economy in any quarter since the third quarter of 2014.

Friday’s report also showed that personal consumption in the second quarter grew at an annualized rate of 4%, a major jump from the 0.5% pace of consumption growth seen to start the year.

Meanwhile core PCE prices, a measure of inflation, grew 2% quarter-on-quarter, less than expected and a slight deceleration from the 2.2% pace of price growth seen to start the year.

This post will be updated when the report is released.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live-...120810799.html

GO TRUMP GO!!!

"WE'RE BACK!"

Thank you, Mr. President, for everything. Thank you, Congress, for the tax cuts. Thank you, Businesses, for investing in our country again. Thank you, American Workers, for all the hard best work in the world this growth number represents.

PAY IT FORWARD AMERICANS - VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2018!

GDP report shows booming 4.1 percent growth, as Trump touts 'terrific' numbers

By Gregg Re
1 hour ago

The U.S. economy grew by 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018, marking the fastest economic expansion in nearly four years, according to a long-awaited official estimate released Friday by the Commerce Department.

The gross domestic product (GDP) numbers, considered an official economic scorecard for the country, will be touted by the Trump administration as a strong indication that its tax cuts, commitment to deregulation and tough trade policies have paid off. The GDP broadly reflects the goods and services produced in the country.

The figures may reflect a temporary boost due to short-term factors, but lend a powerful midterm-season talking point to congressional Republicans hitting the campaign trail during the summer recess. Democrats for months have downplayed and criticized the GOP-authored tax cuts as favoring the wealthy, but Republicans maintain that Americans have broadly benefited.

As reported by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the growth from April to June was the largest since the economy's roughly 5 percent surge in the third quarter of 2014, which was the greatest economic expansion since the third quarter of 2003.

A Reuters survey of economists had predicted the April-June GDP increase at 4.1 percent, and the report met expectations.

President Trump and other White House officials have been setting the stage for days for a strong economic scorecard. The president has been working to refocus his agenda on the economy and trade, after enduring one of the worst weeks of his presidency following his controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And while he’s been battered by both sides of the aisle for his approach to trade, he claimed victory earlier this week after extracting new commitments from the European Union to buy more American products. Trump, in turn, backed off threats to impose tariffs on imported cars.

The economy saw a comparatively slight 2 percent increase in the first quarter of this year, and a 2.3 percent hike in the entirety of 2017.

Consumer spending makes up more than two-thirds of GDP, and Friday's high numbers were driven in part by increased retail spending and low unemployment, as well as boosted exports and government spending. The sweeping Republican tax cuts that took effect in January were likely a major contributing factor, permanently slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and increasing many workers' take-home pay.

Last month, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate had fallen to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. Consumer confidence is high, according to Morgan Stanley Research, though rising gas prices have put a dent in consumer enthusiasm.

Increased oil prices also spurred investment in the energy industry, and healthier international markets further helped the manufacturing sector, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.

Significantly, some observers cautioned that some of the GDP growth reported by the Commerce Department can be attributed to a surge in soybean exports, as international buyers purchased the goods ahead of the expected implementation of bruising tariffs. Last month, The Trump administration announced $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods for the country's "unfair trade practice" involving intellectual property, and China responded by promising $50 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods, including soybeans.

The GDP numbers also were affected by the bipartisan budget deal reached earlier this year, which will raise federal spending caps by more than $300 billion over two years -- a move that some analysts say only artificially, and temporarily, boosts the economy.

Top White House officials had signaled earlier in the week that the numbers would beat expectations. Trump predicted "terrific" economic numbers in a speech Thursday at a newly reopened U.S. Steel plant in Illinois.
Todd Piro talks to diners in Covington, Louisiana.

"On Friday, numbers come out and I don't know what they are, but there are predictions from 3.8 to 5.3 [percent growth]," Trump said Thursday. "Nobody thought we were going to be this good. ... When I took over those numbers were bad, and they were heading in the wrong direction, because of regulation.”

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, "Our Country is doing GREAT. Best financial numbers on the Planet. Great to have USA WINNING AGAIN!"

And White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business Network earlier this week that, although he had not yet seen the data, "You're going to get a very good economic growth number tomorrow. Big."

Gregg Re is an editor for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @gregg_re.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018...c-numbers.html