Thanks to investment and household consumption, U.S. growth surges to 3.4% in the third quarter (but inflation is also accelerating)

Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated sharply in the third quarter in the United States, to 3.4% at an annualized rate, driven by investments and household consumption, according to official data published this Thursday. Growth was 2.2% in the second quarter. The official statistical service BEA highlights the annualized rate, which projects the development observed over three months over the entire year.

From one quarter to the next, the increase is 0.8%. Analysts expected a very solid performance, but less (3.1% annualized), according to the consensus published by MarketWatch. Inflation at 3.6% in September At the same time, the acceleration in the rise in consumer prices in the United States was also confirmed this Thursday, with the publication of the PCE inflation index, the Fed's preferred measure, up 3.6% year-on-year in September, after 3.4% in August.

It is nevertheless a little better than expected by analysts, who expected an increase of 3.7% over one year for the period, according to the consensus published by MarketWatch. Over one month, the price increase is 0.5%, this time in line with market expectations. These publications come a few days before the mid-term elections in the United States.

Polls show President Donald Trump's Republican Party as being in poor shape, particularly because of the cost of living. No “overheating” for the head of the Fed The day before, the President of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) Kevin Warsh had underlined the extent to which activity was robust in the world's largest economy, supported by the “resilience” of consumption and investments in high technologies, primarily artificial intelligence. Asked at a press conference whether it could be "overheating", he replied that "this was not the opinion of most of his colleagues" monetary officials.

"Productivity is increasing (...). Economic growth is therefore stronger, but that does not allow me to conclude that this growth is somehow at the origin of inflation and that it complicates our task," he added.

The central bank is responsible for creating the conditions for full employment and limiting inflation to 2%, a target missed for more than five years.

Machine-translated from French