By The FirstNew data shows the US economy shrank by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2022, worse than previous estimates from economists and the Biden administration.
The White House initially forecasted a decline of 1.3%.
From CNBC:
First-quarter GDP declined at a 1.5% annual pace, according to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a writedown from the initially reported 1.4%.
Downward revisions for both private inventory and residential investment offset an upward change in consumer spending. A swelling trade deficit also subtracted from the GDP total.
The pullback in GDP represented the worst quarter since the pandemic-scarred Q2 of 2020 in which the U.S. fell into a recession spurred by a government-imposed economic shutdown to battle Covid-19. GDP plummeted 31.2% in that quarter.
Economists largely expect the U.S. to rebound in the second quarter as some of the factors holding back growth early in the year subside. A surge in the omicron variant slowed activity, and the Russian attack on Ukraine aggravated supply chain issues that had contributed to a 40-year high in inflation.
CNBC’s Rapid Update survey shows a median expectation of 3.3% growth in the second quarter; the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker also points to a rebound, but at a more subdued 1.8% pace.
