The Commerce Department reported that the gross domestic product (GDP) only advanced at a 0.1 percent annualized rate in the first three months of the year. According to the Wall Street Journal, economists on average were anticipating at least 1.1 percent growth. While this proved to be one of the weakest quarters for economic growth in the last five years, there were some bright spots in the report, such as total consumer spending rising by 3 percent. Most of the drag was a result of a 2.1 percent decline from business investment spending, which is being attributed to poor weather conditions. While weak business spending could prove to be temporary, the most concerning part of the report was that U.S. exports declined by 7.6 percent, the largest decline since the recession. This portion of the report should be met with some concern considering weakness in other economies around the world could end up being a rather large deterrent to U.S. economic growth, just as domestic consumption is starting to show some durability.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
