2024 proved a replay of 2023 as risk assets generally outperformed consensus expectations. While many central banks embarked on policy normalization, resilient growth and sticky inflation led markets to pare back expectations for monetary policy easing. Despite high interest rates and a modest rise in unemployment, U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to near 3.0% for 2024, and year-over-year inflation eased to 2.7% in November, as tracked by the Consumer Price Index. Throughout the year, while several traditional economic indicators continued to signal economic contraction, strong consumer spending and a robust services sector powered the economy.
