The economy of the United States has experienced a real growth spurt during the quarter. For the American president Donald Trump, that offered the ideal opportunity to call his ‘America First’ policy a great success. However, many specialists believe that it will be challenging to sustain strong economic growth for a long time.
The US economy grew by 4.1 percent in the second quarter on an annual basis, according to a preliminary estimate by the US Department of Commerce. It is the most robust growth of the world’s largest economy since 2014. A quarter earlier there was still a growth with an adjusted 2.2 percent.
Trump immediately announced a press release after the publication of the figures. He called the data “amazing”, emphasised that this is a kind of historical change and also predicted “excellent” growth for the third quarter.
“The economy is doing reasonably well”, said Michael Feroli, one of the most prominent economists at JPMorgan Chase. “However, it will be difficult to keep this up for long.”
In general, economists expected the economy to grow steadily, helped by Trump’s tax cuts. Higher consumer spending and business investment mainly boosted the economy. Exports also contributed to economic progress, as did higher government spending.
The increasing trade tensions in the world can, according to economists, ensure that the growth of the American economy will weaken again in the coming period. The US is fighting a trade-off with, among others, China and the European Union. There are also authorities who point out that the effect of the tax cuts has been worked out at a certain point in time.
The growth rate plays an essential role in the interest policy of the Federal Reserve, the umbrella of American central banks. The Fed is suspected of raising interest rates twice more this year. In June, the Fed raised interest rates for the second time this year.