The latest data on U.S. economic output paints a less bleak picture of the economy coming out of the first quarter. But the U.S. appears poised to match last year’s less-than-impressive first half.
Strong hiring, robust home sales, better wage growth and a pickup in consumer spending are driving a rebound for the second quarter. Forecasting firm Macroeconomics Advisers is predicting U.S. gross domestic product will increase at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.7% in the second quarter. Averaged with the latest first-quarter figures, that would amount to just 1.3% growth in the first half of the year.
“Potential growth is much slower than generally thought over the bulk of this expansion,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities.
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