Economy grows at slower 1.8 percent rate in first quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the first three months of the year, significantly slower than first thought. The steep revision occurred mostly because consumers spent less than previously estimated, a sign that higher taxes could be dampening growth.
The Commerce Department revised its estimate of economic growth for the January-March quarter down from a 2.4 percent annual rate. The revised rate was still faster than the 0.4 percent rate in the October-December quarter.
Economists had thought growth in the April-June quarter would be 2 percent or less. Analysts also had expected growth to strengthen in the second half of this year. The downgrade for the JanuaryMarch quarter probably will change those estimates.
It also might affect the timing of the Federal Reserve’s plan to scale back its bond-buying program.
Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that the Fed probably will start to slow its bond purchases this year and end them next year if the economy continues to strengthen. The Fed’s bond purchases have helped keep long-term interest rates low.
Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, noted that the economy barely grew in the final quarter of last year. If the April-June quarter proves as weak as some analysts expect, the Fed will be looking at three quarters of subpar growth.
Stocks surged Wednesday for the second straight day, a sign that some investors believe the economy may be too weak for the Fed to begin scaling back its stimulus this year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 108 points in early trading.
Most of the revision to last quarter’s growth was a result of a drop in consumer spending to an annual rate of 2.6 percent. That’s sharply lower than the 3.4 percent rate estimated last month. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Much of the change reflected a lower estimate for spending on services such as travel, legal, health care and utilities.
Export growth also was trimmed, reflecting slower global growth.
And business investment spending was much weaker than initially estimated. That was largely a result of an even larger drop in spending on buildings than previously thought, a particularly volatile category.