First quarter economic growth was actually 2%, up from 1.3% first reported in major GDP revision

2 yıl önce

The U.S. economy showed much stronger than expected growth in the first quarter than previously thought, according to a big upward revision Thursday from the Commerce Department.

Gross domestic product increased at a 2% annualized pace for the January-through-March period, up from the previous estimate of 1.3% and ahead of the 1.4% Dow Jones consensus forecast. This was the third and final estimate for Q1 GDP.

The upward revision helps undercut widespread expectations that the U.S. is heading toward a recession.

According to a summary from the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, the change came in large part because both consumer expenditures and exports were stronger than previously thought.

There also was some good news on the inflation front.

Core personal consumption expenditures prices, excluding food and energy, rose 4.9% in the period, a downward revision of 0.1 percentage point. The all-times price index increased 3.8%, unchanged from the last estimate.

Federal Reserve policymakers most closely watch core PCE as an inflation indicator. Through a series of rate increases, the Fed is trying to get inflation back down to 2%.

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