American economy grows 3.4% in the third quarter and inflation loses momentum
Growth is the strongest in a year, corporate investment advances and the index that the Fed monitors falls to 2.1% annualized.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM TIMES BRASIL · 2 MIN
The United States economy accelerated in the third quarter and recorded the strongest pace in a year, while inflation measured by the index that the Federal Reserve tracks lost strength markedly. According to Times Brasil, Gross Domestic Product grew 3.4% in annualized terms in the period, compared to 2.2% in the second quarter.
The numbers were released by the White House in a statement on Sunday (1st). Growth was accompanied by signs of strength on different fronts of the economy, which tends to attract the attention of those who follow interest rates and capital markets.
The highlight, according to Times Brasil, was investment by companies, which rose around 13% in the quarter, at the strongest pace in approximately 15 years. Consumer spending also advanced, with an increase of 3.8% in the period, which indicates that consumption continued to be heated.
In the field of prices, the PCE index, monitored by the Fed, rose 2.1% in annualized terms in the third quarter. In the previous three months, the same indicator was at 5%.
The set of data has weight for interest policy. A heated economy tends to maintain the debate about the cost of money, while slowing inflation fuels the discussion about a possible relief in rates.
It is worth remembering that this is a single quarter and that numbers of this type are usually revised in subsequent releases. The reading, therefore, is a trend and not a definition, and the market must monitor the next data before drawing conclusions about the path of interest rates.
What changes for the investor
For those who operate the stock market, Nasdaq, interest rates and the dollar, the combination of strong growth with falling inflation is usually read in two ways. Heated activity favors companies' results, which weighs in favor of shares. Lower inflation leaves room for lower interest rates ahead, a factor that tends to alleviate rate-sensitive assets, such as technology companies listed on the Nasdaq, and can influence the dollar. The final effect depends on how the Fed reacts and the data that comes in the coming months, and this text does not indicate the purchase or sale of any asset.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
