“We expect further bumps along the road for manufacturing as a slowing global economy and escalating tariffs on major U.S. trading partners pose headwinds."
“The economy is in a sweet spot for now," with inflation pressures remaining too weak for the Fed to raise interest rates.
GDP got a boost in Q1 from a sharp decline in imports but economists warn that underlying spending and investment data point to slowing growth.
“Waiting for construction activity to pick up after a sharp drop in mortgage rates is like waiting for Godot."
The measure of consumer spending fell 0.2% after a 1.2% gain in January, signaling tepid economic growth for the first quarter.
The 6.1% increase in the fourth-quarter took the deficit to the highest level in 10 years and topped analysts' forecasts of a $130.0 billion shortfall.
Shipments of factory goods fell for the fourth consecutive month.
Core capital goods orders rebounded from a sharp drop in December, suggesting the slowdown in business investment may be shallow.
The biggest drop in spending since 2009 confirmed expectations that the economy will slow down further in the first three months of 2019.
“I think this is a slowing. I don’t think this is ‘we’re falling into an abyss," one economist says.
"It appears the bloom is off the economic expansion rose. The data doesn’t paint a picture of strong growth going forward.”
U.S. retail sales in the all-important holiday month recorded its biggest drop in more than nine years.
