The U.S. economy under President Donald Trump exceeded expectations and grew at an annualized rate of three percent in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released on Wednesday.
The Commerce Department report found the American economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), made the gains from April through June. GDP is a measure of a basket of goods and serves to measure growth throughout the U.S. economy.
The three percent figure exceeds the Dow Jones estimate at 2.3 percent and reversed the 0.5 percent decline the first quarter of the year experienced.
Heather Long, a chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said, “The word of the summer for the economy is ‘resilient.’ The consumer is hanging in there, but still on edge until the trade deals are done.”
Consumer spending rose by 1.4 percent in the second quarter and exports declined by 1.8 percent during the same period.
The GDP data also shows that inflation is declining, although it has yet to completely subside.
CNBC continued:
The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s key inflation metric, showed a gain of 2.1% for the quarter, just above the central bank’s 2% target. Core PCE inflation, which the Fed considers a better gauge for longer-run trends as it excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.5%. The respective numbers for the first quarter were 3.7% and 3.5%.
The Fed meets later Wednesday and is expected to hold its key overnight borrowing rate steady in a 4.25%-4.5% range, where it has been since December.
Trump cheered the news, writing on Truth Social, “2Q GDP JUST OUT: 3%, WAY BETTER THAN EXPECTED! “Too Late” MUST NOW LOWER THE RATE. No Inflation! Let people buy, and refinance, their homes!”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3
Read the full article here