U.S. Economy Going Strong and Steady
The U.S. economy continues to experience robust growth supported by real wage increases, lower unemployment, and easy access to credit, which all support stronger private consumption, according to the Atradius December Economic Update report.
The report’s key takeaways for the U.S. economy include: World trade will see five-percent growth in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018 driven by intra-regional trade flows in Asia and strong import demand from North America.
U.S. shale production has proven resilient and is expected to continue to keep prices moderate in 2018.
A massive tax overhaul has been passed by both houses of Congress and could be signed into law by the end of the year, suggesting that fiscal policy should contribute to growth next year.
Business insolvencies in advanced markets are expected to decrease three percent in 2017, followed by a two-percent decline in 2018.
| EMERGING MARKETS % Real GDP growth forecasts |
||
| 2017 | 2018 | |
| Emerging Asia | 6.0 | 5.9 |
| Eastern Europe | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| Emerging Markets | 4.4 | 4.7 |
| ADVANCED MARKETS % Real GDP growth forecasts |
||
| United Kingdom | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| United States | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| EUROZONE % Real GDP growth forecasts |
||
| Austria | 2.9 | 2.2 |
| Belgium | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| France | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Germany | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| Greece | 1.1 | 2.4 |
| Ireland | 4.1 | 2.5 |
| Italy | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| Netherlands | 3.1 | 2.1 |
| Portugal | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| Spain | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| EURO AREA | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Source: Oxford Economics | ||