Economics

U.S. GDP Report Expected to Give Trump a Win Ahead of Midterms

Consumer, business spending probably rose amid tax-cut boost
Growth may cool this quarter and in 2019 as trade war persists

Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder at Ecri, discusses the U.S. equity market and what it says about the economy.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Sho Chandra

October 23, 2018 at 4:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The U.S. economy is poised for its best back-to-back quarters of growth since 2014, handing President Donald Trump a $20 trillion talking point just in time for the midterm congressional elections.

The report due Friday, the last data before the Nov. 6 vote, will show gross domestic product expanded at a 3.4 percent annualized pace in the July-September period after a 4.2 percent gain in the prior quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Consumer spending and business investment probably drove growth, and inventory accumulation also contributed.