This signifies that government expenditure significantly surpasses its revenue….reports Asian Lite News
The US’ mounting debt structure currently stands at a staggering $34 trillion, according to usdebtclock, Cryptoslate reported.
An escalating annualized interest accompanies this steep climb on the federal debt that exceeds $1 trillion and is projected to break through the $3 trillion threshold by Q4 2030, according to E J Antoni, an economist at Heritage & Comm4Prosperity.
Further compounding the issue, the US grapples with a structural deficit. As indicated by analyst Joe Consorti, the federal deficit is worrying at -6.460 per cent of the GDP, Cryptoslate reported.
This signifies that government expenditure significantly surpasses its revenue. While the deficit witnessed during Covid-19 induced peak at -15 per cent, it has since lowered to -6.4 per cent, offering a glimpse of the government’s financial health.
The US national debt has seen a startling increase of $6.7 trillion in just three years, closing in on a staggering $34 trillion, up from $27.3 trillion in December 2020, Cryptoslate reported.
This surge raises critical concerns about the nation’s fiscal health and economic sustainability. According to Bank of America (BofA) research, the debt to GDP ratio is approximately 100 per cent, which parallels the unprecedented levels seen during World War 2.
Inflation under control
Meanwhile, the last US inflation snapshot for 2023 revealed that the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge didn’t budge last month, holding at 2.6 per cent and wrapping up a year in which price hikes slowed while the economy remained strong.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — the inflation gauge that the Fed uses as its target rate — was up 2.6 per cent annually in December, closing out 2023 with a softer punch than the 5.4 per cent gain a year prior, according to Commerce Department data released Friday, CNN reported.
That’s 0.6 percentage points from the central bank’s goal of 2 per cent. Excluding energy and food, components that tend to be more volatile, the closely-watched core PCE price index rose 2.9 per cent annually, a slower pace than the 3.2 per cent rate seen in November.
The core PCE gauge is at its lowest point since March 2021. On a monthly basis, the headline PCE index rose 0.2 per cent, a slight acceleration from the 0.1 per cent drop seen in November when gas prices were tumbling. The core PCE index also rose by 0.2 per cent from the prior month.
Consumer spending finished the year strong and was up 0.7 per cent from November 2023, according to Friday’s report. Adjusting for inflation, spending was up 0.5 per cent, CNN reported.
Economists had projected PCE would rise 2.6 per cent for the 12 months ended December and for consumer spending to grow 0.5 per cent from the month before, according to FactSet estimates, CNN reported.
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