Growth powered ahead in Q4, giving 2024 momentum

• Consumer spending and state and local government spending were even stronger than first estimated — but that was offset by weaker inventories.
• A "nowcast" produced by the Atlanta Fed estimates that the economy is tracking at a 3.2% growth rate in the first quarter — most recently pushed up by home sales data and durable goods orders released this week.

How it works: GDPNow is a running estimate of growth based on available economic data and fluctuates as more data points are published.

Between the lines: With this quarter about two-thirds through, the only major data so far covers January. But those indicators suggest strong growth has been accompanied by stronger price pressures.

• In a speech yesterday, Fed governor Michelle Bowman said her base case is that progress on inflation will continue despite signs of stalling progress in January.
• Still, she warned that she remains "willing" to raise interest rates further "should the incoming data indicate that progress on inflation has stalled or reversed."