The US economic data released yesterday was worrying đđ
The U.S. GDP growth in the first quarter was only 1.1% (in line with the forecast of the Atlanta Fed GDPNow on Wednesday), lower than the expected 1.9%, mainly dragged down by a 2.3% decline in inventory preparations, but the inflation data is more worrying, the GDP deflator ( 4% vs 3.7%) and core PCE price index (4.9% vs 4.7%) were both higher than expected;
On the other hand, initial jobless claims were 230,000 last week, below expectations of 246,000, and continuing claims also fell by 3,000 to 1.858 million. This "stagflation" background provides an important reference for today's ECI (Employment Cost Index) and PCE releases, which will be the last indicators to assess inflation and labor market pressures before the FOMC meeting.
