The new year got going with a bang. Instead of the economic gloom many had forecast, American companies kept hiring and American consumers kept spending. Investors will see evidence of that strength when the first-look first quarter gross domestic product report is released on Thursday in the week ahead.
A forecasting model from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates that the economy grew at a 2.5% annual rate during the first three months of the year. That’s decent data. Three months ago, this same forecast was looking for the economy to expand by less than 1%.
The numbers released Thursday will be the first of three versions as government statisticians revise the figures in the months ahead. Still, a 2.5% annual growth rate in the first quarter almost matches the economic output at the end of 2022.
