Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given period — the headline measure of economic size and growth.
GDP = C + I + G + (X − M)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total output of an economy. It is released quarterly and is the broadest scorecard of economic health. Growth above trend signals expansion; two consecutive quarters of contraction is the classic definition of a recession.
GDP surprises move markets by resetting rate-cut or rate-hike expectations. Strong GDP can delay central bank easing; weak GDP accelerates it. Traders also decompose GDP into its components — consumption, investment, government spending, net exports — to identify where the strength or weakness is concentrated.