US GDP grows 2.8% in Q3, nearing soft landing

US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024, slightly lower than the expected 3%. This figure was driven by strong consumer and government spending. Personal consumption grew by 3.7% in the third quarter, the strongest quarterly performance since early 2023. The quarterly personal consumption expenditure index grew at an annual rate of 1.5%, down from 2.5% in the second quarter. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model on Tuesday cut its estimate for the third quarter to 2.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent, and Kathy Jones, chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab, called the figures ‘soft landing numbers’. Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNN earlier this month that he thought we should have ‘declared a soft landing.’ September's JOLTS report showed U.S. job openings fell to their lowest point since the beginning of 2021, dropping to 7.44 million in September from 7.89 million in August, down from 8 million expected by economists. economists' expectations of 8 million.Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, said the report by itself is not enough to disprove the soft-landing argument, but it is a step in that direction. The market is still almost certain (96%) that the Fed will cut rates by another 25 basis points next month.