Get ready for the hot takes.
When the Commerce Department releases second-quarter GDP data on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, economists will be expecting a whale of a number. The MarketWatch-compiled economist consensus calls for 4.3% growth, which would represent the fastest growth rate since the 5.2% gain put on the scoreboard for the third quarter of 2014.
If second-quarter GDP growth tops 5.2% — not at all impossible, given the data that’ve come in — it would be the strongest number since the third quarter of 2003.
Of course, that was an era when the president of the United States did not take to Twitter to brag about economic data. Already, reporters and economists seem to be jockeying to frame the report:
Everyone is going to freak about a strong GDP number on Friday. Smart people will quickly look to see how much a big increase in exports ahead of tariffs added to the number. Could be a lot. And it will be a one-off.
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) July 24, 2018
