Growth in the U.S.'s gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, more tepid than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Wednesday.þþOutput was previously reported to have risen at a 2.4 percent pace after a 0.4 percent stall speed in the fourth quarter. The economy was likely held back by a moderate pace of consumer spending, weak business investment and declining exports.þþEconomists polled by Reuters had expected first-quarter GDP growth would be left unrevised at 2.4 percent. When measured from the income side, the economy grew at a 2.5 percent rate, slower than the fourth-quarter's brisk 5.5 percent pace.þþDetails of the report, which showed downward revisions to almost all growth categories, with the exception of home construction and government, could cast a shadow over the Federal Reserve's fairly upbeat assessment of the economy last week.þþThough the data is fairly backward looking, it comes as financial market conditions are tightening after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the U.S. central bank would likely begin to slow the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year and stop the program in 2014.þþEconomists fear that could undercut growth, which has recently shown signs of picking up.þþConsumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 2.6 percent pace rather than 3.4 percent. The revision largely reflected weak outlays on health care services.þþConsumer spending grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter of last year.
Source: Chicago Tribune
