GDP Hot, But Not Too Hot
The preliminary figure for Q1-2010 GDP this morning from the Commerce Department came out at +3.2%. While this is hot as it is above the 3.0% mark, this is south of the 3.3% estimate from Dow Jones. The PCE Price…
The preliminary figure for Q1-2010 GDP this morning from the Commerce Department came out at +3.2%. While this is hot as it is above the 3.0% mark, this is south of the 3.3% estimate from Dow Jones. The PCE Price Index also came out as +1.5%, which shouldn’t send the worriers running into the streets that things are getting out of hand.
Earlier this week, the FOMC decided to keep interest rates steady at the target 0.00% to 0.25%. While this is too low for a normalizing environment, this sort of GDP figure along with a low inflation and still very high unemployment will all allow the FOMC to keep its “extended period” stance for now.
Consumer spending was 3.6%; Real final sales, GDP minus inventories, rose by +1.6%. Residential fixed investment fell by what was about 10%. Business spending rose 4.1%. Imports rose 8.9%, while exports rose by 5.8%.
JON C. OGG
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.
