U.S. economic data is eye-catching 👍
The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter far exceeded market expectations, with a growth rate of 4.9%, double the previous quarter and the fastest growth level since 2021. The near-collapse of regional banks, ongoing geopolitical conflicts, soaring mortgage rates and persistent inflation have failed to slow down the U.S. consumer. Among them, personal consumption increased by 4%, expenditure on goods increased by 4.8%, expenditure on services increased by 3.6%, final sales increased by 3.5%, residential investment rebounded by 3.9%, and government and federal expenditure increased by 4.6% and 6.2% respectively. Inventory rebuilding added $66 billion to GDP in the third quarter, while core PCE slowed to 2.4% from 3.7% in the previous quarter. Clearly this is a comprehensive and robust report.
Other data releases also coincided with the strong GDP data, with durable goods orders rebounding 4.7% from -0.1% in August, and pending home sales rebounding to 1.1% from -7.1% the previous month, while as of October 21 Initial claims for unemployment benefits remained steady that week, rising by just 10,000 (total 210,000).
