US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the third estimate from the Department of Commerce (DOC).
The first-quarter growth rate was further revised downward from 2.3 per cent in the DOC's advance estimate and 2.2 per cent it its second estimate. The growth rate is also down from the 2.9 per cent annual rate seen in the fourth quarter of 2017 and is the slowest since the first quarter of 2017.
Despite the downgrade, however, the DOC's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said the 'general picture of economic growth remains the same.'
US GDP grew at a 3.2 per cent rate in the third quarter of 2017, 3.1 per cent in the second quarter and 1.2 per cent in the first quarter, meaning that real GDP increased 2.3 per cent in 2017 compared with a 1.5 per cent growth rate in 2016 and a 2.9 per cent increase in 2015.
BEA said the deceleration in GDP growth in the first quarter reflected decreases in personal consumption expenditures, exports and residential fixed investment, as well as state, local and federal government spending. Those factors were offset in part by an increase in non-residential fixed investment, as well as a deceleration in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP.
Real exports of goods and services grew 3.6 per cent in the first quarter, according to BEA, compared with a 7 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2017. Imports, meanwhile, grew just 3.2 per cent, compared with a 14.1 per cent jump the previous quarter.
Adding to the somewhat discouraging news for the US economy, the most recent data from the DOC indicates new orders for durable goods slipped another 0.6 per cent to US$248.8 billion in May, following a revised 1 per cent decline the previous month. The May decrease in durable goods orders was the third in the last five months and fifth in the last 12 months.
DOC's Census Bureau noted that transportation equipment, also down for the second consecutive month, drove the decline in durable goods orders, slipping 1 per cent to $86.1 billion for the month. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, total durable goods orders were down 0.3 per cent.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods fell for the first time in 10 months in May, slipping 0.1 per cent to $246.9 billion, following an April in which shipments were 'virtually unchanged,' according to the Census Bureau, reports American Shipper.
The first-quarter growth rate was further revised downward from 2.3 per cent in the DOC's advance estimate and 2.2 per cent it its second estimate. The growth rate is also down from the 2.9 per cent annual rate seen in the fourth quarter of 2017 and is the slowest since the first quarter of 2017.
Despite the downgrade, however, the DOC's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said the 'general picture of economic growth remains the same.'
US GDP grew at a 3.2 per cent rate in the third quarter of 2017, 3.1 per cent in the second quarter and 1.2 per cent in the first quarter, meaning that real GDP increased 2.3 per cent in 2017 compared with a 1.5 per cent growth rate in 2016 and a 2.9 per cent increase in 2015.
BEA said the deceleration in GDP growth in the first quarter reflected decreases in personal consumption expenditures, exports and residential fixed investment, as well as state, local and federal government spending. Those factors were offset in part by an increase in non-residential fixed investment, as well as a deceleration in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP.
Real exports of goods and services grew 3.6 per cent in the first quarter, according to BEA, compared with a 7 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2017. Imports, meanwhile, grew just 3.2 per cent, compared with a 14.1 per cent jump the previous quarter.
Adding to the somewhat discouraging news for the US economy, the most recent data from the DOC indicates new orders for durable goods slipped another 0.6 per cent to US$248.8 billion in May, following a revised 1 per cent decline the previous month. The May decrease in durable goods orders was the third in the last five months and fifth in the last 12 months.
DOC's Census Bureau noted that transportation equipment, also down for the second consecutive month, drove the decline in durable goods orders, slipping 1 per cent to $86.1 billion for the month. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, total durable goods orders were down 0.3 per cent.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods fell for the first time in 10 months in May, slipping 0.1 per cent to $246.9 billion, following an April in which shipments were 'virtually unchanged,' according to the Census Bureau, reports American Shipper.