US economy shows signs of slowing

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (AFP): President Donald Trump's multi-front trade wars are dragging down growth, slowing the economy in the second half of the year even as inflation stays low, new government data released Friday revealed.
The data showed that falling exports and slower consumer spending are putting the brakes on economic growth, while inflation is again falling.
That will present a new conundrum for the Federal Reserve, which raised the key borrowing rate on Wednesday and signaled it will continue to hike next year, albeit at a slower pace.
The Fed has continued to forecast strong growth, which would support their case for tightening monetary policy, but the expected inflation spurt and rise in wages have not materialized.
US growth in the July-September quarter was slightly slower than previously reported, dragged down by the large drop in exports, the Commerce Department reported.
With hundreds of billions of dollars in goods hit by retaliatory tariffs, US exports fell by the largest amount since early 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.
Gross domestic product expanded by 3.4 per cent in the third quarter rather than the 3.5 per cent previously reported, due in large measure to the 4.9 per cent drop in exports, higher than the Commerce Department originally estimated.
Goods exports dropped 8.1 per cent, the biggest decline since the first three months of 2015, according to the report, the third and final reading on third quarter GDP.
Trump's aggressive trade policies, and especially the tariff retaliation from China, has impeded exports, with soybean sales nearly grinding to a halt.
The strong US dollar also has made American goods more expensive.
The dispute with China, even with a ceasefire declared until March 1 for negotiations, has created fears of slowing US and global growth, and caused stock markets to retreat, with Wall Street wiping out all of the 2018 gains.