Atlanta Fed’s GDP Tracker Falls To Zero

Economic growth appears to have come to a standstill, a widely followed barometer of the economy showed Wednesday.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNOW estimate of economic growth based on data published through today fell to zero from 0.9 percent a week ago. The figure was dragged down by a variety of economic data released over the past week, including retail sales, and consumer prices.

This decline raises the possibility that the economy may contract for a second consecutive quarter, one conventional definition of an economic recession. The economy contracted at a 1.5 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year.

GDPNOW is not a forecast of economic growth. Instead, it is an economic model that tracks what recently released economic data indicates about the economy.