U.S. Economy Speeds Up, but Less Than Forecast
You are missing trading opportunities:
- Free trading apps
- Over 8,000 signals for copying
- Economic news for exploring financial markets
Registration
Log in
You agree to website policy and terms of use
If you do not have an account, please register
The American economy sped up in the first quarter of this year, with output expanding at an annualized pace of 2.5 percent, according to a Commerce Department report released Friday.
But economists were not terribly excited, and not only because the number came in below their forecasts of around 3 percent.
While faster growth of any kind is welcome, much of the acceleration in gross domestic product was probably the result of unusually slow growth at the end of 2012, when the economy grew at an annualized pace of just 0.4 percent. Growth in the fourth quarter had been dragged down by smaller restocking of businesses’ inventories, for example, and in the first quarter businesses made up for this by adding much more to their backroom shelves.
“The current G.D.P. report is evidence that there is no escape velocity building to get the economy out of this rut,” Steve Blitz, director and chief economist at ITG Investment Research Inc., wrote in a note to clients. “The second quarter looks to be very much the same.”
read more ...