Goldman’s ‘Analyst Index’ Tumbles In March As ‘Soft’ Survey Data Rolls Over

Since the election, talking heads have crowed about improving economic data (macro- and micro-). However, what they have failed to mention is all of the improvements have been in ‘soft’ survey and sentiment data, not ‘hard’ economic figures; and now, judging from the plunge in Goldman Sachs Analyst Index, soft data is starting to lose faith rapidly.
The Goldman Sachs Analyst Index (GSAI) declined by 5.2pt to 51.5 in March, but remains above 50, a level we have found represents trend growth. Underlying components also edged lower, though the month-over-month decline in the headline index was primarily driven by declines in materials prices and sales and shipments indexes. Consistent with the February survey, analyst commentary remains optimistic about the pace of growth in business activity this year, but some sector analysts suggested a few potential headwinds remain.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Mar 31, 2017.