Economic Growth 2015: US GDP Shrinks 0.7% In Q1

[Valin]

International Business Times:

Jessica Menton

May 29 2015

 

The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of 2015, driven by a slowdown in shipping due to labor disputes at West Coast ports. U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate Friday.

 

Economists had forecast the U.S. economy contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.8 percent in the first quarter, down from the Commerce Department’s preliminary estimate of 0.2 percent in April.

 

However, economists say the first-quarter numbers are distorted by the unwinding of a backlog of exports and imports at West Coast ports. “It’s basically a meaningless adjustment. I’m not worried about it, and I expect it to reverse in the second quarter,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.

 

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