Newsroom

August 27, 2015

2Q GDP revised up to 3.7%

The gross domestic product grew by 3.7 percent during the second quarter of 2015, according to a revised estimate from the Commerce Department – which first put the number at 2.3 percent.

NAFCU Chief Economist and Director of Research Curt Long analyzed data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for a Macro Data Flash. He noted that the second quarter "has to be weighed against weakness in the first quarter."

"Taken together, the economy grew an annualized 2.1 percent during the first half of 2015," Long wrote. "This is roughly in line with the Fed's full-year forecast of 1.8 to 2.0 percent and qualifies as moderate growth. While the upward revisions to business and residential investment were particularly encouraging, this report is unlikely to weigh too heavily on the Fed in their interest rate considerations."

The GDP growth came from gains in personal consumption expenditures (2.11 percent), government spending (0.47 percent) and residential and nonresidential investment (0.25 and 0.41 percent, respectively).

The Federal Open Market Committee is set to hold its next policy-setting session Sept. 16-17.