The United States economy grew stronger than expected in the second quarter. The world’s largest economy grew by 3.0 percent on an annual basis, according to the Commerce Department. That’s more than 2.6 percent, which was reported on the basis of the initial estimate. It is also a significant improvement over the 1.2 percent improvement that was posted in the first three months of this year.
The stronger growth is linked to consumer spending that outperforms previously thought. Business investment also proved stronger than previously estimated. The adjustment for the second quarter exceeds expectations of economists. They were in average at a plus of 2.7 percent.
US President Donald Trump had previously announced an ambitious goal for annual growth of 3 percent. However, experts believe that it is not possible to maintain the current growth rate in the coming months.
Hurricane Harvey also has a slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter. Estimates of the expected damage in the US vary considerably, but all amount to millions of dollars. The recovery efforts in, inter alia, Texas could again help to boost US growth in the US.
Japanese industrial production decreased
Japanese industrial production decreased in July. This was revealed on Thursday by figures from the Japanese Ministry of Commerce.
Production, based on preliminary figures, decreased by 0.8 percent on a monthly basis. Economists predicted a fall of 0.3 percent. A month earlier, growth was still 2.2 percent. On an annual basis, industrial output grew by 4.7 percent, with an expectation of 5.2 percent.
Chinese industry shows further recovery
Industrial activity in China grew at a slightly pace in August than in the previous month. This is evidenced by the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Chinese Industry, which was released by the Chinese government on Thursday. The index came to 51.7, while economists were on average 51.3. A month earlier, the index came out at a level of 51.4. The service sector gauge rose to 53.4 out of 54.5 a month earlier in August.
French inflation is increasing slightly
Inflation in France rose slightly in August. The prices paid to consumers in the second largest euro area economy were 0.9 percent higher than a year earlier. This is evidenced by figures published by the French statistical agency Insee in Thursday. In July inflation was still 0.7 percent. Compared to the previous month, the average price level rose by 0.5 percent in August after a 0.3 percent decline on a monthly basis in July. This is an initial estimate of French inflation. The price increases were in line with the expectations of economists.
