US Economy Shows Resilience with Strong Q2 Growth and Steady Inflation

The US Commerce Department reported stronger second-quarter GDP growth than previously estimated, with inflation remaining steady and private payrolls increasing more than expected.

The revised estimate for Q2 GDP growth is now at 2.2 percent, up from the previous 1.5 percent. The increase was driven by consumer spending, investment, and exports, while imports were a subtraction in the calculation of GDP.

The leading contributors to the increase were real estate, information, durable goods manufacturing, and finance and insurance, with decreases coming from transportation, retail trade, and non-durable goods manufacturing.

Inflation remained steady at 3.4 percent year-on-year, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. This comes after a revision to the July data, which showed inflation had not increased as previously thought.

The US labor market has been stable this year, allowing the Federal Reserve to focus on taming inflation. The ADP reported that private sector hiring bounced back strongly in September, with 90,000 new jobs added, exceeding market expectations.