Guest post by Joe Hoft
Atlanta Fed projects a 3rd Quarter GDP of 4.6%!
The Atlanta Fed released their projection for US GDP as of August 24th and the results are very good for Americans –
The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the third quarter of 2018 is 4.6 percent on August 24, up from 4.3 percent on August 16. After yesterday’s releases on new-home sales and costs from the U.S. Census Bureau, the nowcast of third-quarter real residential investment growth increased from -4.5 percent to -1.1 percent. After this morning’s advance durable manufacturing report from the Census Bureau, the nowcast of third-quarter real nonresidential equipment investment growth increased from 6.4 percent to 7.5 percent and the nowcast of the contribution of inventory investment to third-quarter real GDP growth increased from 1.92 percentage points to 2.03 percentage points.
The Fed also provided a chart with their latest numbers –
This calculation is supported by the latest GDP results for the 2nd Quarter of the year as well as the markets’ results. The official GDP from the Fed in the 2nd Quarter exceeded 4% (4.1%).
The stock markets are also on fire. On Friday the S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 all reached record highs. The DOW is up over 2,000 points since March, landing on one of its highest closes ever and the markets have much room to grow to catch up to the economy.
In addition, President Trump claims that much more is coming when the trade deals kick in –
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018
