Breitbart.com
The U.S. economy grew at a meager annual rate of 1.6 percent and inflation surged higher in the first three months of the year, the government reported Thursday.
Economists had expected gross domestic product would grow at a 2.5 percent rate. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual pace.
Consumer spending was solid but weaker than many economists had forecast, with consumers pulling back sharply on spending on goods. Spending on durable goods declined at a 1.2 percent annual pace. Spending on services rose four percent. Overall spending rose at a 2.5 percent rate, below the three percent estimated and the 3.3 percent recorded in the final three months of 2023.
Despite the slowdown in consumer spending, inflation accelerated. The personal consumption expenditure price index rose at a 3.4 percent pace in the first quarter, nearly twice the 1.8 percent increase in the prior three-month period.