Economic growth slows

Important points:

The US economy grew by 1.3% during the first quarter, a sharp decline compared to the last three months of 2023.
We have not seen such a low figure since the second quarter of 2022, when GDP recorded a loss of 0.6%.
Markets turned red Thursday morning, with the Dow Jones down 1.1%.

Finally, the United States economy It grew at a slower pace than initially thought, rising just 1.3% in the first quarter.

Experts expected that the GDP (gross domestic product) shows an increase of 1.6% in the first three months of the year.

The difference was in– Downward review of consumer spending“, because it grew in the first quarter by 2%, that is, less than the first reading, which saw an increase of 2.5%.

On the other hand, the percentage was 1.3% Much lower than the GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last yearWhich amounted to 3.4%. In parallel, it was also the lowest figure since the second quarter of 2022, when GDP reached a loss of 0.6%.

How will growth continue in the United States?

Goldman Sachs analysts expect second-quarter GDP to grow 3.2% year-on-year, while the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDP report estimates a 3.5% jump.

Bank of America said they saw no concerns about the recently announced numbers: “The bottom line is that the economy moderated a little in the first quarter, but remained stable overall“.

What's happening in the markets?

Despite expert opinion, Wall Street woke up to major declines after the GDP news: Dow Jones fell 1.1%While the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.