US Economy Expands By 3% In Q2, Surpasses Earlier Estimates; Jobless Claims Little Moved Last Week (CORRECTED)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the consumer spending figure from the second-quarter GDP report and to state that weekly jobless claims saw an improvement, rather than a cooling in labor market conditions.

The U.S. economy expanded by a robust 3% in the second quarter, a significant acceleration from the 1.4% growth seen in the first quarter and representing an upward revision from the government’s initial estimates.

This outcome continues to underscore the U.S. economy’s strong resilience, even amid persistent high interest rates, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of growth.

In a separate report released Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 24 came in slightly below expectations, suggesting some improvement in labor market conditions.

Q2 GDP Report (2nd Estimate) Key Highlights

• The U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 3% in the second quarter, upwardly revised from the initial estimate of 2.8%.
• Corporate profits rebounded, moving from a 2.7% contraction in the first quarter to a 1.7% increase in the second quarter.
• The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index, a key measure of inflation, slowed from 3.4% in the first quarter to 2.5% in the second quarter and was downwardly revised from 2.6%.
• Excluding food and energy, the core PCE price index eased from 3.7% in the first quarter to 2.8% the second quarter, also marking a downward revision from the previous 2.9%
• The acceleration in real GDP during the second quarter was primarily driven by an increase in private inventory investment and a pick-up in consumer spending.
• Consumer spending, a major driver of the economy, grew from 1.5% in the first quarter to an annualized rate of 2.9%, sharply surpassing earlier estimates of 2.3%.

Latest Jobless Claims Report

• Initial jobless claims totaled 231,000 for the week ending Aug. 24, down from the upwardly revised 233,000 the previous week and slightly below the expected 232,000.
• The four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, slowed from 236,250 to 231,500.
• Continuing claims inched up from a revised 1.855 million to 1.868 million, slightly below the forecasted increase to 1.870 million.

Market Reactions

The U.S. dollar rallied following the release of the weekly unemployment insurance report, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) up 0.4% as of 8:35 a.m. in New York.

On Wednesday, the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF rose by 0.5%, marking its strongest one-day increase since June 7.

In Thursday’s premarket trading, futures on major U.S. indices edged higher, despite Nvidia Corp. tumbling by 4% in reaction to earnings. Nasdaq 100 futures were up by 0.3%, while Dow Jones futures rose 0.6%.

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