While the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing stronger than previously estimated U.S. economic growth in the first quarter, the pace of growth still reflects a significant slowdown.
The report said the pace of growth in gross domestic product was upwardly revised to 0.8 percent from the initial estimate of 0.5 percent.
Nonetheless, the revised GDP growth in the first quarter compares to the 1.4 percent jump seen in the fourth quarter and the 0.9 percent increase expected by economists.
The Commerce Department said the stronger than previously estimate growth primarily reflected upward revisions to private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and exports.
Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were also downwardly revised to show a 0.2 percent dip compared to the previously reported 0.2 percent uptick.
The deceleration in GDP compared to the previous quarter was partly due to slower growth in personal spending, which climbed by 1.9 percent in the first quarter after jumping by 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
The report also showed a larger decrease in non-residential fixed investment and a downturn in federal government spending compared to the previous quarter.
However, an upturn in state and local government spending and an acceleration in residential fixed investment helped limit the downside.
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said, "The modest upward revision to first-quarter GDP growth to a still muted 0.8% annualized, from 0.5%, is nothing to worry about when the more recent incoming data point to a big pick-up in second-quarter growth."
"The Atlanta Fed's closely watched GDP tracker puts second-quarter growth at 2.9%, which looks about right to us," he added.
On the inflation front, the Commerce Department said its reading on core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, surged up by 2.1 percent in the first quarter after rising by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.