U.S. Economic News
July 30, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
The advance estimate of 2020 Q2 GDP indicates that the U.S. economy contracted at an annualized rate of 32.9% in the second quarter, in line with consensus estimates and the steepest quarterly contraction on record. The contraction in real GDP reflects negative contributions from consumer spending, residential investment, business investment, and state & local government spending that were only slightly mitigated by positive contributions from federal government spending and net exports. BEA Report
Initial jobless claims rose 12,000 to 1,434,000 last week. The four-week moving average rose 6,500 to 1,368,500. DOL Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that while the pandemic has sent car makers’ profits plunging across the globe, a recovery in demand in Western Europe and the U.S. could lead to a brighter picture for the global auto market in the second half of the year. Volkswagen – the world’s biggest car maker by sales – notes that although car deliveries remained in the red in June and July, they improved significantly from April lows, hinting that the auto market is on the path to recovery. WSJ