United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Sales q/q

This index is calculated on the basis of gross domestic product (GDP). The change in private stocks is deducted from the value of GDP. Conversely, the value is the sum of private final consumption expenditure, private gross fixed capital formation, government final consumption expenditure and private gross capital formation, and net exports of goods and services. What advantage does this value have over GDP? It is possible that at the beginning of a crisis production will remain at a high level, which will not change GDP for the time being. However, less is sold and this ends up in stock, which increases this value. This in turn means that, in such a situation, final sales of domestic products are already falling, despite an equally high GDP. This value therefore reacts more quickly to changes than GDP.

GDP itself is one of the most important indicators of a national economy. It allows not only a comparison between countries, but also a comparison with the previous year (y/y) or previous quarter (q/q), and thus shows the current status and development of a country or economy. For the respective national banks, these are essential benchmarks for upcoming decisions on interest rates and other appropriate monetary policy measures.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services at market prices for a given period produced domestically (domestic principle). The gross national product (GNP), which records the use of income, and the national income, which represents the distribution of income, are included in the national accounts. It is criticized, however, that factors that cannot be recorded in monetary terms (happiness, education, health, ...) are not taken into account and technical innovations that save costs (decline in GDP) but lead to positive economic development (keyword digitization) could lead to false forecasts (e.g. prospering economy despite falling GDP).

The rates of change compared with the previous quarter are of course more volatile, but give a good impression of the current dynamics of the economy. By contrast, the rates of change compared with the previous year are more stable and are more suitable for assessing the medium-term growth path of the economy. Final sales of domestic products q/q reflect the percentage change in prices in the month under review compared with the previous month.

An increase in this value or a value above expectations could have a positive impact on the USD and vice versa.