It looks like we have more good economic news this year despite all the hurricanes that we had in Q3:
WSJ – The U.S. economy grew robustly in the third quarter despite two hurricanes, propelled by steady spending from American businesses and households.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services made in the U.S., expanded at a 3% annual rate in July through September, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had projected a 2.7% gain.
Output expanded at 3.1% rate in the second quarter. This marks the economy’s best six-month stretch since mid-2014.
The third quarter’s strong growth is particularly impressive because two hurricanes—Harvey and Irma—temporarily shut down major population centers in Texas and Florida in August and September. The Commerce Department said in its report Friday that the storms likely suppressed business activity such as oil and gas extraction in Texas and agriculture production in Florida. But the agency added, “it is not possible to estimate the overall impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on 2017 third-quarter GDP.”
The economy has achieved 3% growth in a quarter on numerous occasions during the current economic expansion, but it has failed to maintain that pace. Compared to a year earlier, output expanded 2.3%, a pickup from recent trends but roughly in line with growth this decade.
Details from Friday’s report suggested underlying health and point to momentum heading into 2018.
According to Fox News, the last time this happened was just three years ago:
GDP →
— Fox News Research (@FoxNewsResearch) October 27, 2017
•Q3 2017: +3% (advanced est)
•Q2 2017: +3.1%
•The last time the economy had 2 consecutive quarters of 3% or higher growth was in 2014 https://t.co/N21eQbNd90
I do think this is great news, but I think much of it is still momentum from the 2016 election and the expectation that Congress is going pass much needed tax reform soon. Which means this growth won’t last if Congress fails on tax reform like it did on Obamacare.