US growth in the first quarter fell short of expectations
US economic growth slowed in the first quarter as weak investment spending and the decline in stocks dampened the impact of the increase in consumption expenditures.
First quarter growth in the US was well below expectations.
Annualized growth in the US in the first quarter was 1.1 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 1.9 percent. Annualized growth was recorded as 2.6 percent in the previous quarter.
The data showed that the increase in personal expenditures in the first quarter also fell short of expectations. Accordingly, personal spending increased by 3.7 percent in the first quarter. The expectation for this data was determined as 4 percent. In the previous quarter, there was a 1 percent increase in personal spending in the USA.
A realization that exceeded expectations was observed in price indicators. The GDP price index rose 4 percent in the first quarter. Economists had expected the index to rise 3.7 percent.
Core PCE, on the other hand, beat expectations for a 4.9 percent quarterly increase of 4.7 percent.