Atlanta Fed raises U.S. second-quarter GDP view to 2.9 percent

Reuters

Published May 26, 2016 11:24AM ET

Atlanta Fed raises U.S. second-quarter GDP view to 2.9 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is on track to grow by a 2.9 percent annualized rate in the second quarter following the latest data on durable goods orders and advance goods trade, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Thursday.

The latest GDP estimate saw faster growth than the 2.5 percent pace reported on May 17, the regional Fed said on its website.

It was the Atlanta Fed's strongest reading yet on second-quarter economic activity, suggesting a rebound from a weak first quarter. Its initial second-quarter GDP growth estimate back on April 29 was 1.8 percent.

The forecast for second-quarter gross private domestic investment swung to growth of 0.4 percent from an estimated 0.3 percent fall following Thursday's durable goods report for April, the Atlanta Fed said.

The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, jumped 3.4 percent in April after increasing 1.9 percent in March.

After Wednesday's advance report on international trade in goods for April, net exports would add 0.16 percentage point to gross domestic product in the second quarter, compared with an earlier estimate that it would subtract 0.04 percent from second-quarter GDP.

The government said on Wednesday the U.S. advance goods trade deficit grew to $57.532 billion in April, less than what some analysts had forecast. In March, the goods trade gap was $56.899 billion.