Kudlow: GDP Rebound 'Exceeded All Expectations'

The news that the nation's gross domestic product has rebounded at a 33.1% annualized rate in the third quarter of this year "exceeded all expectations" and will mark a strong recovery that will continue into 2021, White House Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Thursday. 

"It is a record high since the data going back to 1947," Kudlow said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "We've never had anything remotely close to this."

Production was kicking on "all cylinders," said Kudlow, including huge numbers on housing, consumer spending, automobiles, manufacturing, and more, and it will continue to grow. 

"Inventories are depleted," he said. "There is not much on the shelves. A lot of demand is out there for autos and consumers and so forth, so inventories will be rebuilt. This is not a one-time impact. This will go on. The V-shaped concept that I coined a while back is looking pretty good right now."

The rebound can be attributed to both the fact that some parts of the U.S. economy have been reopening, but it's also because of last spring's "good rescue package," especially in the small business paycheck protection program and with direct case assistance, said Kudlow. 

"Remember, too, as these businesses open, the policies here are still President (Donald) Trump's low tax rates, his deregulation, independent energy, and good trade deals," said Kudlow. "That all begins to slowly kick back in as the economy recoils and springs back. That's why I think the momentum will be very, very strong."

Inventories will all be rebuilt in the next couple of quarters, said Kudlow and he thinks that by late winter or early spring, "policies permitting, we will regain all of the lost output that we suffered during the terrible pandemic contraction this past winter and the first half of the year. So it's an optimistic view."

Meanwhile, Trump wants no shutdowns, and the administration does not think shutdowns are necessary, he said. 

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