|

US: The outlook is improving, but some risks remain – National Bank of Canada

Recent weeks have been punctuated by a number of positive developments for the U.S. economy, the first of which was the significant upward revision to historical data on household disposable income. However, this was partially offset by weaker recent momentum, NBC’s Jocelyn Paquet notes.

Fed to continue cutting its key rate at a gradual pace

“In reality, however, the future path of household income will depend first and foremost on the evolution of the labour market. Which brings us to the second piece of good news of recent weeks: September's solid employment figures.”

“As for the third piece of good news, the Federal Reserve has not only decided to begin its cycle of monetary easing with a jumbo 50 basis point cut, but has also underlined its willingness to cut benchmark rates further in the months ahead, if the latest edition of its dot plot is anything to go by.”

“Assuming that inflation remains under control and that the U.S. elections do not cause too much disruption, we expect the Fed to continue cutting its key rate at a gradual pace over the coming months. This will probably not prevent growth from slowing significantly by the middle of next year, although we do not expect the economy to contract. Following this scenario, we anticipate growth of 2.6% and 1.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. This is better than the figures of 2.5% and 0.9% we presented last month.”

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:

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD retreats toward 1.1700 on modest USD recovery

EUR/USD stays under mild bearish pressure and trades below 1.1750 on Friday. Although trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, the modest recovery seen in the US Dollar causes the pair to edge lower. The economic calendar will not feature any high-impact data releases.

GBP/USD struggles to gain traction, stabilizes near 1.3450

After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades marginally lower on the day at around 1.3450 as market participants remain in holiday mood.

Gold climbs toward $4,400 following deep correction

Gold advances toward $4,400 and gains more than 1.5% on the day after suffering heavy losses amid profit-taking heading into the end of the year. Growing expectations for a dovish Fed policy and persistent geopolitical risks seem to be helping XAU/USD stretch higher.

Cardano gains early New Year momentum, bulls target falling wedge breakout

Cardano kicks off the New Year on a positive note and is extending gains, trading above $0.36 at the time of writing on Friday. Improving on-chain and derivatives data point to growing bullish interest, while the technical outlook keeps an upside breakout in focus.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is.  Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).