Commentary
The U.S. consumption figure seems robust. A 0.9 percent rise in personal spending in April looks good on paper, especially considering the challenges that the economy faces.
This apparently strong figure is supporting an average consensus estimate for the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of 3 percent, according to Blue Chip Financial Forecasts. However, the Atlanta Fed GDP nowcast for the second quarter stands at a very low 1.9 percent. If this is confirmed, the U.S. economy may have delivered no growth in the first half of 2022 after the decline in the first quarter, narrowly avoiding a technical recession.
The evidence of the slowdown is not just from temporary and external factors. Consumer and business confidence indicators present a less favorable environment than the expectations of an optimistic market consensus. According to the Focus Economics aggregate of estimates, the United States economy should grow a healthy 3.6 percent in 2022 helped by very strong third and fourth quarters, at 4.9 percent and 5.5 percent growth, respectively. The main driver of this surprisingly resilient trend is the unstoppable consumption estimates. However, there are important clouds on the horizon for the American consumer….