The Dollar Is Rallying, Consumers Are Really Starting To Spend, And GDP Estimates Keep Going Up
The headline to this post basically tells the story of what we've learned about the economy this week.
The consumer is spending, the dollar is on a tear, and people keep raising their estimates for US GDP.
We wrote about the dollar rally yesterday, but the gist is that as the Fed's extraordinary measures come to an end, and rate hikes come in site, the dollar is crushing other world currencies.
This chart shows what a tear that dollar has been on.
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Meanwhile, the US consumer is really starting to spend.
Retail sales surged in August, and the July estimate of consumer spending was revised significantly higher.
Meanwhile, US GDP estimates keep getting cranked up.
Goldman estimates that Q2 GDP growth was actually 4.7%.
And their estimate for Q3 GDP just got raised from 3.1% to 3.3%.
So yeah, everything's pretty hot.