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WORLD> America
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US economy grows slightly better than expected
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-29 21:36 WASHINGTON - The US economy grew at an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in the first quarter, slightly better than previously thought because of lower demand for foreign goods and services and a rise in investment in non-residential structures, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.
The department estimated a month ago that gross domestic product, which measures the total output of goods and services within US borders, grew at a 0.6 percent rate. But it raised the growth estimate to take into account updated economic and trade data. Growth in the January-March quarter was in line with economists' expectations for a revision to 0.9 percent growth after the economy grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of national economic activity, was left unrevised at a 1.0 percent increase for the first quarter. The Commerce Department said imports of goods and services fell 2.6 percent in the first quarter, a sharp revision from the 2.5 percent increase initially estimated. But exports, a recent source of strength for the US economy, also were weaker than first thought, with the first-quarter figure revised to an increase of 2.8 percent from a 5.5 percent rise. Investment in nonresidential structures rose 1.1 percent compared with a 6.2 percent fall estimated last month. This was partially offset by a $14.4 billion drop in private inventories, previously estimated as a $1.8 billion rise. In its first estimate of corporate profits for the quarter, the Commerce Department said after-tax corporate profits rose 3.8 percent after falling 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter. |
