Trump hails US economic growth spurt, promises more ahead, Government & Economy



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Sat, Jul 28, 2018 – 8:32 AM

[WASHINGTON] President Donald Trump on Friday hailed US economic growth as a "miracle", and said the quickest expansion in almost four years was a vindication of his economic agenda.

With the size of the American economy now surpassing US $ 20 trillion, GDP expanded by 4.1 per cent in the April-June quarter, making the United States the fastest-growing of advanced countries, according to a government report.

"We're on track to hit the highest annual average growth rate in over 13 years," Mr Trump said in remarks at the White House. "Everywhere we look, we're seeing the effects of the American economic miracle."

The Second Quarter Acceleration in the Aftermath of the Injection of Stimulus and Republican Tax Cuts.

But economists warned it could be a blip caused by heavy factors, including a one-off bounce produced by Mr Trump's trade showdown with China.

The robust results are growing in the first half of the year at just over three percent, matching the White House target and faster than the

Mr Trump said the United States was "the economic envy of the world," and "As the trade deals come one by one, we are going to great numbers. "

His jubilation did not extend to Wall Street, where stocks closed down markedly as investors feared the economy and had disappointed earnings and trade war fears.

In the April-June period, consumer spending had its biggest bounce in nearly Four years, with Americans buying more goods and spending more liberally on health care, housing, utilities, restaurants and hotels, according to the Commerce Department report.

Purchases of goods jumped 5.9 per cent – with the largest contribution coming from booming auto sales – while services rose 3.1 per cent.

But the report was another boosted by a foreign source, which was more expensive than 13.3 per cent, driven higher by foreign sales of oil and soybeans, which nowadays stiff Chinese tariffs. [19659003] Analysts said that it was increased by Chinese importers before Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on US goods, which means it is likely to fall in the third quarter, dragging down the growth rate.

] Accelerating in a trade war?

Mr. Trump's goal is nevertheless focused on the sudden drop in the US trade deficit and another triumph for his tough trade policies.

"Perhaps one of the "The biggest deficit in the report, it is indeed a big one, is that the trade deficit," said Mr Trump said. 19659003] The report showed imports rose only 0.5 per cent, the smallest increase in two and a half years.

The contribution fell fell of the most bullish forecasts of five percent or higher, with which Mr Trump had teased hearings in Iowa and Illinois as recently as Thursday.

The White House is counting on faster growth . Federal Tax Incentive for the Federal Republic of the World (1965-1971) Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics, said swings in the inventories and trade.

"The message, then, that it's going to be bigger, and it's going to grow faster, for a while," he said. wrote in a research note.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said the growth rate was likely to meet the White House's three-point target for the year and noted that a sudden drop in business inventories in the second quarter could point to a rebuild in the latter half of 2018.

"The question is, how much are the firms willing to stock up with the threat of a trade war?" it said in a research note.

AFP

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