mpc: 13 Estimated growth in Q1 was revised up slightly to 0.9% in the United States. The previous
estimates had shown a large contribution from inventories, but this had been revised down, as had the
strength of imports. Growth had now been in the 0.8% 1.1% range in all but one of the past eight
quarters. The slightly weaker Institute of Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing and non-
manufacturing indices suggested, perhaps, a moderate deceleration in GDP in Q2, but that was
consistent with what had been expected at the time of the May
Inflation Report. With consumption
still looking robust, long rates falling and house prices rising, there seemed to be little reason to expect
growth to slow sharply in the near term. So it was puzzling why some measures of consumer
confidence indicated that US consumers were worrying about job prospects.
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