U.S. economic growth in Q1 revised down to 3.1 pct

Source: Xinhua | 2019-05-31

The U.S. economic growth in the first quarter of 2019 was revised down to an annual rate of 3.1 percent, from the previously reported 3.2 percent, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday in its second estimate.
The update to the gross domestic product (GDP) growth reflected downward revisions to business investment and inventory investment and an upward revision to imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, the department said, adding that these revisions were partly offset by upward revisions to exports and consumer spending.
Nonresidential fixed investment in the first quarter was revised down to an annual rate of 2.3 percent, from the previous estimate of 2.7 percent, the department said. It rose by 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Imports in the first quarter shrank by 2.5 percent, compared with 3.7 percent in a previous estimate. Imports have seen a 2.0 percent rise in the previous quarter.
Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic output, was revised up to 1.3 percent, from 1.2 percent in a previous estimate. Consumer spending grew by 2.5 percent in the previous quarter.
The new report also showed that the price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) was revised down to 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent in a previous estimate. It rose by 1.5 percent in the previous quarter.
The 3.1 percent annual growth rate in the first quarter indicated an acceleration of economic expansion, considering the annual rate of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. The U.S. economy expanded 2.9 percent last year, falling short of the administration's 3 percent target.
In its latest economic projections released in March, the Federal Reserve cut its forecast of the U.S. economic growth for 2019 and 2020, expecting a rate of 2.1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
In its new edition of the World Economic Outlook released in April, the International Monetary Fund also downgraded the growth forecast for the U.S. economy, expecting it to slow to 2.3 percent 2019, down 0.2 percentage point compared with its January estimate.