Economists polled by Dow Jones reportedly expected growth of 2.5 percent of the U.S. economy for the first quarter of 2019, even President Trump had set the bar at 3 percent. But as a surprise to almost everyone, the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate than it was expected to, managing to hit it’s best growth in the past four years. This years first quarter domestic product has grown by 3.2 percent according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. [1]
Over 3%
For the first time since 2015, the first quarter GDP of the U.S. has topped 3 percent. The long-awaited report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was finally released on Friday morning, and it showed how the country had managed to fare during the month-long government shutdown and the U.S. trade war with China.
In recent years the GDP has been pretty low when it comes to the first quarter, and this year many economists were expecting small numbers after multiple adverse factors were taken into account in the first quarter. After a stock market nosedive in December, the ongoing U.S. trade war with China, and Trump partially shutting down the government for 35 days, there were fears of growth being less than 1 percent.
It’s Growing
“The upside beat was helped by net trade (exports jumped while imports contracted sharply) and inventories which combined contributed almost 170 bps of the rise,” wrote Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “Personal spending though, the biggest component was up just 1.2%, two tenths more than expected as an increase in spending on services and nondurable goods offset a decline in spending on durable goods.” [2]
Just out: Real GDP for First Quarter grew 3.2% at an annual rate. This is far above expectations or projections. Importantly, inflation VERY LOW. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2019
Notes:
- ^Caplan, Joshua. “U.S. Economy Grows 3.2% in Q1, Smashing Expectations.” Breitbart, 26 Apr. 2019, www.breitbart.com/economy/2019/04/26/us-economy-grows-3-2-percent. (go back ↩)
- ^Imbert, Fred. “US economy grows by 3.2% in the first quarter, topping expectations.” CNBC, 26 Apr. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/gdp-q1-2019-first-read.html. (go back ↩)
