Second-quarter GDP expected to reveal sluggish growth
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its widely anticipated second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) estimate early Friday morning, as Wall Street looks for signs of softening growth amid growing economic uncertainties.
Forecasters surveyed by Refinitiv estimate that the U.S. economy grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate during the second quarter, the three-month period from April through June.
If that figure is accurate, it means the U.S. economy has cooled after showing solid growth in the first quarter. (From January to March, the economy grew by 3.1 percent).
At the time, despite the healthy figure, some analysts suggested the U.S. economy will still decelerate this year, evident in the reading of the second quarter.
“We believe that recent softness in manufacturing indices is beginning to reflect the fact that demand growth is starting to flag, leaving producers in an increasingly difficult position,” said Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Birch said she anticipates the economy to expand by just a little more than 1 percent quarter on quarter.
“We expect these strains to be reflected in the second quarter,” she said.
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GDP is one of the broadest measures of the nation’s economic activity, capturing whether the U.S. is growing richer or poorer. If the economy grows by less than 2.2 percent, it will be the lowest reading in about two years.