Friday, April 27, 2007
GDP numbers -- what impact housing and exports have
What really caught my eye was the contribution of net exports, which swung from contributing 1.6% to growth in the fourth quarter last year to knocking off 0.6% this year. Reuters at least touches on that. That swing had more to do with slowing exports than increased imports. This may stay the hand of the Fed in raising interest rates any time soon (higher interest rates increase exchange rates and make our exports less competitive.)
Worth noting: When this number is revised (and there will be two such revisions) the trade figure is the one that changes the most. So I expect this GDP estimate to be rather volatile to trade revisions.
Labels: economics