The United States’ GDP release for the last quarter of 2021 came in higher than expected. Even with the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID, real GDP increased by 1.7% compared to the previous quarter and is 5.5% higher than in the last quarter of 2020.
With the Federal Reserve currently implementing the first of what are planned to be 4 interest rate hikes in 2022, this could slow down growth. Even if nominal GDP grows rapidly, it will still have to outpace inflation that could increase further if interest rate increases are not enough to offset the effect of supply chain disruptions and increasing wages.
