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US economy grows faster in Q1 than expected

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-27 09:43

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 1 percent in the first quarter of this year, faster than the 0.9 percent pace estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The first-quarter growth rate for gross domestic product or GDP followed growth paces of 0.6 percent in the final three months of 2007 and 4.9 percent in the third quarter of last year.

"The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, exports of goods and services, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and PCE for durable goods," said the department when releasing the report.

In the January-to-March period, consumer spending, which accounts for two thirds of overall economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 1.1 percent, down from a 2.3 percent growth rate in the previous quarter.

Spending on housing projects plunged 24.6 percent, marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline. The plunge, however, was not as sharp as previously estimated.

Businesses' spending on equipment and software declined 0.6 percent, reversing a 3.1 percent gain in the prior quarter.

Exports of goods and services increased 5.4 percent after having gained 6.5 percent, while imports of goods and services decreased 0.7 percent after having declined 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, federal government spending in the first quarter rose at a rate of 4.3 percent, much stronger than the 0.5 percent growth pace in the previous quarter.

"Core" prices, which exclude volatile energy and food and are an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose at a rate of 2.3 percent in the first quarter. That was down from a 2.5 percent pace in the prior quarter.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States. The first-quarter GDP data will be revised once more by the department.