US GDP for the third quarter was revised upwards from +2.6% initially announced with the preliminary reading to growth of 2.9%. The data, which confirms the solidity of the United States economy despite the aggressive rate hikes launched by the Fed, will undergo a final revision in a few weeks.
Looking at the components of GDP, the growth in consumer spending was revised upwards from +1.4% to +1.7%; corporate profits fell by 0.2% and the core component of the personal consumer price index (PCE – the Fed’s preferred metric to track inflation trends) was revised upwards to +4.6 %, compared to the +4.5% initially reported.
The data on US GDP is positive: but this very factor could unnerve the markets, which are hoping for signs of a slowdown in the economy and therefore of inflation, which will lead the Fed to launch monetary tightening of a minor entity to the mega rate hikes of 75 consecutive basis points pitched to date.