US Numbers Come out Strong for Wednesday
- Core Durable Goods Orders M/M
- Durable Goods Orders M/M
- Preliminary GDP Q/Q
- Preliminary GDP Price Index Q/Q
- Unemployment Claims
The United States released a handful of economic numbers during the trading session on Wednesday. These are important figures that traders will be paying attention to as far as the “big picture” is concerned. That’s while the United States is undoubtedly the strongest-performing major economy out there.
Varied results
The numbers that came out are varied in their meaning. At this time, the Preliminary GDP Q/Q coming out at 2.1% is much stronger than the anticipated 1.9%. While not necessarily a “blowout number”, it is a sign that the United States economy continues to be stronger than many others around the world.
Durable Goods Orders came out at 0.6% – much stronger than the anticipated -0.5% month-over-month. Beyond that, the Core Durable Goods Orders came out at 0.6%, as opposed to the anticipated 0.2% month-over-month. This is a very strong sign of inflation. Therefore, the US dollar will probably pick up a little due to that factor.
Finally, the United States released its weekly Unemployment Claims figure at 213,000. This was 10,000 less than the anticipated 223,000 expected for the week. It shows that employment is still very strong in the US, and therefore it’s likely that the economy should continue to strengthen on the whole.
That should have money reaching towards the United States as opposed to going further to other places, just as we have seen over the last couple of years.
The main takeaway
The main takeaway from these numbers is that it’s just going to end up being more of the same, namely that the United States leads the rest of the world right now.
While that isn’t necessarily a major revelation, it’s more of an assurance from aspects such as higher stock prices in the States and a strong dollar. One must also not forget the possibility that commodity markets will stabilize a little, and perhaps even offer a “knock-on effect” to the commodity-related economies.
Ultimately, the market is likely to see a continued favoring of the United States. But one thing that the growth in the US does provide is the possibility that the rest of the world can turn around. This is especially poignant considering that the China-US trade war continues to grab most of the headlines.
However, the reality is that things aren’t necessarily falling apart in the United States. And although some think the nation cannot continue down this road, it clearly can. While this goes against the headlines out there, the reality is that, although it has slowed down from its 4% GDP last year, the US economy is still running right along trend over the last couple of decades.