US economic growth slowed slightly more than initially thought in the first quarter amid downward revisions to inventory investment and consumer spending, but income tax cuts are likely to boost activity this year.
Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 2.2 per cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of first-quarter GDP, instead of the previously reported 2.3 per cent pace. The economy grew at a 2.9 per cent rate in the fourth quarter.
There are signs GDP growth gathered momentum early in the second quarter, with solid consumer spending, business investment on equipment and industrial production in April, according to Reuters.
Economists expect a US$1.5 trillion income tax cut package, which came into effect in January, will spur faster economic growth this year and lift annual GDP growth close to the Trump administration's 3 per cent target. Economists also had expected first-quarter GDP growth would be unrevised at a 2.3 per cent pace.
Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 2.2 per cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of first-quarter GDP, instead of the previously reported 2.3 per cent pace. The economy grew at a 2.9 per cent rate in the fourth quarter.
There are signs GDP growth gathered momentum early in the second quarter, with solid consumer spending, business investment on equipment and industrial production in April, according to Reuters.
Economists expect a US$1.5 trillion income tax cut package, which came into effect in January, will spur faster economic growth this year and lift annual GDP growth close to the Trump administration's 3 per cent target. Economists also had expected first-quarter GDP growth would be unrevised at a 2.3 per cent pace.