U.S. Third-Quarter GDP Revised Higher on Consumer Spending
The U.S. economy expanded more than previously reported last quarter on a sunnier picture of household spending, the primary growth engine.
Gross domestic product rose at a 3.2 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in September, the fastest in two years, compared with an initial estimate of 2.9 percent, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 3 percent gain.
GDP represents the value of all goods and services produced in the economy. Analysts’ projections for the latest growth figure ranged from 2.8 percent to 3.3 percent. This is the second of three estimates for the quarter before annual revisions in July.
The revised growth figure mainly reflected changes to the pace of consumer spending and residential investment. Household purchases, which account for almost 70 percent of the economy, grew at a 2.8 percent annualized rate, stronger than the 2.1 percent pace initially estimated.
US consumer confidence jumps to highest level in 9 years
US consumer confidence rebounded this month to the highest level in more than nine years as Americans appeared unfazed by a tumultuous election campaign.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index registered 107.1 in November, up from 100.8 last month and highest since July 2007.
Americans' assessment of current economic conditions was also the sunniest since July 2007. Their expectations for the next six months were the most optimistic since June 2015.
"The election result has had a clear positive impact on sentiment," Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note. "It also supports our view that consumer spending will continue to rise at a decent pace over the rest of the year."
Fed's Powell says case for a rate hike has clearly strengthened since last meeting
The case for a rate hike has clearly strengthened since the U.S. central bank's last meeting, said Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell on Tuesday in prepared remarks at an event in Washington.
"Incoming data show an economy that is growing at a healthy pace, with solid payroll job gains and inflation gradually moving up to 2 percent," Powell said.
While Powell said he thinks that the Fed's patience in raising rates has paid dividends, he warned that moving too slowly could eventually mean that the Federal Open Market Committee would have to abruptly tighten policy to avoid overshooting its goals.
Bernanke tells Fed officials to clam up
Federal Reserve officials should refrain from publicly discussing their predictions about future actions by the central bank, Ben Bernanke said Monday.
“The tendency of individual FOMC participants to make public forecasts of what the committee as a whole is likely to do...is not helpful,” the former Fed chairman said in the latest post on his blog.
Bernanke said Fed officials should limit their comments “to what they themselves see as the best policy approach.”
Oil markets jittery ahead of OPEC meeting later in day
Oil markets were jittery on Wednesday ahead of an OPEC meeting later in the day, with members of the producer cartel trying to thrash out an output cut to curb oversupply that has seen prices more than halve since 2014.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $45.38 a barrel at 0019 GMT (7.19 p.m. ET), up 35 percent from their last settlement.
Oil dropped nearly 4 percent the previous session over disputes between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq regarding details of the planned output cut.
Reference : CNBC, MarketWatch, AP, Reuters
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