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21 Feb 2014
Flash: US growth unequivocally weak - BAML
FXStreet (Guatemala) - The currency strategy Team at Bank of america Merrill Lynch explained that economic data across the board has come in unequivocally weak.
Key Quotes
"Heading into 2014, the stars seemed to be finally aligned for strong US growth, which should have triggered normalization in interest rates. The economy seemed to have some solid momentum going into the end of 2013."
"4Q GDP was 4% and 3Q GDP was tracking close to 3%. However, over the past several weeks, economic data across the board has come in unequivocally weak."
"Payrolls for December and January averaged 94k, which is much weaker than the prior 6m moving average of 200k. ISM, retail sales and housing starts in January were also very weak. This week the BofAML US Activity Surprise Index turned negative for the first time since last October's government shutdown."
"Given lack of an obvious explanation for the sudden slowdown in momentum, the weather has been blamed for some of this data weakness. This winter has been unseasonably cold and many parts of the country have seen record snowstorms and travel disruptions."
Key Quotes
"Heading into 2014, the stars seemed to be finally aligned for strong US growth, which should have triggered normalization in interest rates. The economy seemed to have some solid momentum going into the end of 2013."
"4Q GDP was 4% and 3Q GDP was tracking close to 3%. However, over the past several weeks, economic data across the board has come in unequivocally weak."
"Payrolls for December and January averaged 94k, which is much weaker than the prior 6m moving average of 200k. ISM, retail sales and housing starts in January were also very weak. This week the BofAML US Activity Surprise Index turned negative for the first time since last October's government shutdown."
"Given lack of an obvious explanation for the sudden slowdown in momentum, the weather has been blamed for some of this data weakness. This winter has been unseasonably cold and many parts of the country have seen record snowstorms and travel disruptions."