Final GDP for the second quarter of 2012 was revised from 1.7% to 1.3%. No change was expected in the third publication. It’s important to note that this “final revision†can be actually changed later on in the future.
For those saying that the US is already in recession, this lower GDP figure provides fuel. Additional figures were published, and they aren’t all negative.
After a few months that saw unemployment claims gradually climbing higher, they saw a surprising drop to 359K this time. Expectations stood only on a small drop from 385K to 378K, so this is a big positive surprise.
On the other hand, durable goods orders plunged by 13.2%, far worse than -4.7% that was expected. This headline figure is volatile, but also the core number fell short of expectations. Core durable goods orders dropped by 1.6%. A small gain of 0.2% was expected.
EUR/USD rose after the publication to 1.2885. USD/JPY is sliding towards 77.60.
