Goldman Sachs Raised Its Forecast for Third Quarter U.S. GDP Growth to 35%
On September 10, Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for the third-quarter GDP growth rate of the United States to an annualized rate of 35% from 30%, saying that this was largely driven by the unexpectedly strong rebound in consumer spending. On September 3, the latest forecast released by the Atlanta Fed showed that the third quarter GDP of the United States will moderately grow to 29.6%. However, the Atlanta Fed's economic-tracking model, GDP NOW, suggests that consumption fell in August, mainly due to the decrease in consumer’s spending on unemployment benefits. According to the survey, the average American spending in August was 8% lower than that in July. Goldman Sachs included a 1.25% increase in consumption in August in its GDP forecast, and pointed out that its four high-frequency indicators all showed a further 1-2% increase in real spending in August, giving a GDP growth forecast of about 30%. Goldman Sachs economists raised their forecast for third-quarter GDP growth to 35% after a surprisingly strong August payrolls report. Given that U.S. GDP plunged 31.7% in the second quarter of this year, the base effect makes a sharp rebound in the third quarter possible. It should be noted, however, that when the economy has not yet shown the strength of the recovery, the optimistic upgrade of the forecast of large investment institutions will create blind confidence in the market, which is worth warning.