Consumer spending, the heart of the nation’s economy, was slowed but solid. Investment in housing fell, weakened by the weight of higher mortgage rates.
Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department indicated that the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — picked up from the 2% growth rate in the January-March quarter. Last quarter’s expansion was well above the 1.5% annual rate that economists had forecast.
In fighting inflation, which last year hit a four-decade high, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March 2022, most recently on Wednesday. The resulting higher costs for a broad range of loans — from mortgages and credit cards to auto loans and business borrowing — have taken a toll on growth.
At a news conference Wednesday after the Fed announced its latest quarter-point rate hike, Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the central bank’s staff economists no longer foresee a recession in the United States. In April, the minutes of the central bank’s March meeting had revealed that the Fed’s staff economists envisioned a “mild” recession later this year.
And the Conference Board, a business research group, reported Tuesday that Americans this month are in their sunniest mood in two years, based on the board’s reading of consumer confidence. Still, Farooqi suggested, the surprisingly healthy GDP report makes it somewhat more likely that the Fed will raise rates again because the economy appears to be “much stronger” than what the central bank would like to see. With stronger growth comes a greater likelihood of high inflation.
The Biden White House’s Council of Economic Advisers estimated Thursday that investment in factories and other manufacturing facilities added 0.4 percentage point of growth last quarter, the largest such proportion since 1981. President Joe Biden pushed the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act last year to encourage domestic manufacturing. Michael Feroli, chief U.S.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
U.S. economy grew at a faster 2.4% rate in April-June quarter despite Fed rate hikesThe U.S. economy accelerated unexpectedly to a 2.4% annual growth rate from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of steadily higher interest rates resulting from the Federal Reserve’s 16-month-long fight against inflation.
Les mer »
U.S. economy grew at a faster 2.4% rate in April-June quarter despite Fed rate hikesThursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department indicated that the gross domestic product picked up from the 2% growth rate in the January-March quarter.
Les mer »
US economy accelerated unexpectedly to a 2.4% growth rate in April-June quarter despite Fed hikesThe U.S. economy surprisingly accelerated to a 2.4% annual growth rate from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of steadily higher interest rates resulting from the Federal Reserve's 16-month-long fight to bring down inflation.
Les mer »
CONSUMER CATCH-UP: Consumer confidence up, claims open in DreamCloud settlementIn this edition of Consumer Catch-Up, consumer confidence is up, claims open in DreamCloud settlement, and a new scam detector app launches.
Les mer »
US economy accelerated unexpectedly to a 2.4% growth rate in April-JuneThe U.S. economy surprisingly accelerated to a 2.4% annual growth rate from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of steadily higher interest rates resulting from the Federal Reserve's 16-month-long fight to bring down inflation.
Les mer »
The Fed's favorite inflation measure cooled down even further in June | CNN BusinessThe inflation gauge tracked most closely by the Federal Reserve showed that the pace of price increases slowed last month, according to Commerce Department data released Friday.
Les mer »