• US Real GDP grew at 6.9% annualised in Q4, well above the expected 5.5% pace. 
• The US dollar is pushing to fresh multi-month highs as a result, with the data underpinning hawkish Fed bets.  

US Real GDP grew at an annualised pace of 6.9% in Q4 2021, well above the median economist forecast for a pace of growth of 5.5%, according to the first estimate released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. That marked a sharp acceleration from Q3's 2.3% QoQ pace of growth. The GDP Price Index, which measures the annualised change in the price of all goods and services included in the GDP calculations, rose at a pace of 7.0% in Q4, above market expectations for a 6.0% reading. For the full year 2021, real US GDP growth was 5.7%, the strongest since 1984.  

Market Reaction

In wake of the latest US data dump that saw GDP growth for Q4 come in much stronger than anticipated, the US dollar has been kicking higher, with the DXY recently crossing into fresh daily/multi-month highs in the 97.20s. The latest GDP figures will likely underpin hawkish Fed bets.