|

U.S.: More growth, more inflation and fewer rate cuts – National Bank of Canada

The latest U.S. data suggest that the economy will end the year on a high note. As has been the case for some time, the current strength reflects solid growth in consumer spending, due not only to the resilience of the labour market, but also to the steady increase in household net worth, NBC’s economist Jocelyn Paquet reports.

GDP set to grow by 1.7% in 2026

“As the drivers of recent performance are likely to remain the same in 2025, the U.S. economy should continue to outperform that of other rich countries, provided the new Trump administration sticks to the most pro-growth part of its agenda and keeps its protectionist instincts to a minimum.”

“While recognizing the high level of uncertainty surrounding these projections, our best guess at this stage is that the spending cuts announced by the Trump administration will be insufficient to prevent tax cuts from widening the deficit further. We therefore expect fiscal policy to have a positive impact on growth over the next two years. On the international trade front, we believe that Washington will refrain from imposing blanket tariffs, opting instead for a more targeted, less disruptive approach.”

“Against this backdrop, we have decided to significantly revise upwards our growth forecast for 2025, to 2.1%. GDP should then grow by 1.7% in 2026.”

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

More from FXStreet Insights Team
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD keeps its focus on 1.1800

EUR/USD is holding its ground near two-day highs around 1.1750 as Thursday’s session is drawing to a close. The pair is drawing support from a more constructive risk mood, helped by easing EU–US trade tensions and a softer US Dollar. Looking ahead, attention shifts to Friday’s flash PMI releases from both Europe and the US.

GBP/USD flirts with 1.3500 on persistent USD selling

GBP/USD is regaining momentum on Thursday and pushing up towards two-week highs around the 1.3500 mark. In the process, Cable is leaving Wednesday’s brief wobble behind and slipping back into its upward trend, helped by ongoing selling pressure on the Greenback ahead of key advanced PMI data on Friday.

Gold continues scaling new record highs, climbs above $4,950

Gold extends its record-setting rally for the fifth consecutive day on Friday, as persistent geopolitical uncertainties continue to drive safe-haven flows. Meanwhile, expectations for further policy easing by the Federal Reserve contribute to the de-dollarization trend and further underpin the non-yielding bullion, which remains on track to register gains for the third successive week and appears unaffected by extremely overbought conditions.

Bank of Japan expected to hold rates, markets seek clues on further tightening

The Bank of Japan is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.75% after concluding its two-day monetary policy meeting next Friday. The Japanese central bank hiked rates to its highest level in three decades in December, and will likely stand pat on Friday to better assess the economic consequences of previous rate hikes.

Trump walks back NATO tariffs, signals de-escalation

What began as a sharp escalation risk quickly turned into a de-escalation signal. Earlier this week, markets briefly priced in escalation risk after Donald J. Trump proposed a 10% tariff hike on eight NATO nations amid the Greenland dispute.

XRP defends $1.90 support as ETFs attract inflows despite retail caution

Ripple (XRP) is consolidating above $1.90, a short-term support level, at the time of writing on Thursday. This mild uptick marks two consecutive days of a strengthening technical outlook, following recent market-wide volatility.