According to Jerome Powell, the fundamentals supporting the US economy remain solid. First quarter growth has been robust but underlying concerns about the quality of growth have emerged. Growth has benefitted from a drop in imports and rising inventory levels while residential investment acted as a drag. In the coming months, imports should rebound and inventories should witness a scale back. The onus will fall on consumer spending and corporate investment to neutralise the effects of these anticipated headwinds on growth.
According to the first INSEE’s estimate, real GDP growth remained stable at 0.3% q/q in Q1 2019. This figure is in line with our expectations but it paints a mixed picture, an even more mixed one than during the two previous quarters.
