The winter’s final backlash

Forecasts for the second estimate of the U.S. Q1 Gross Domestic Product, released last Thursday, were not excessively optimistic. The preliminary estimate for the figure, released on April 30th, saw the U.S. economy expand by an annualized 0.1% during the quarter. However, as the effect of bad weather settled in analysts’ economic models, it dragged their estimation for the second print to a contraction of 0.5%. When the second estimate’s data was actually published, it presented an annualized 1% decrease of GDP. The recent datum marked the first quarter in three years in which the U.S. economy presents a contraction. Surprisingly, the effect the bad news had on the markets was somewhat limited. Expectations of the Fed prolonging its aggressive monetary activity were not evident in the U.S. bond yields, as the 10 year presented little change immediately after the publishing. U.S. equity Markets also exhibited with a rather muted reaction with the NASDAQ clearing the day at a 0.5% gain, and the Dow Jones adding 0.4%. Join Anyoption and take advantage of the volatility of the markets ..Start Trading TODAY!