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ReturnU.S. economic growth slows down further due to housing slump
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PublishDate：
2007-04-28 17:00:00
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WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the first quarter in 2007, the weakest quarterly showing in four years, due largely to the housing slump, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The reading on real gross domestic product(GDP), the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States, was weaker than the growth rate of 2.5 percent in the final quarter of last year.
It was even below the 1.8 percent rate that many economists have expected for the first three months of this year.
The report showed that the main culprit behind the slowdown in the first quarter was the housing market. Private investment in residential sector plunged by 17.0 percent on an annualized basis.
That followed a pace of 19.8 percent in the previous quarter and marked the sixth consecutive quarterly fall in this area.
Business investment in equipment and software, however, rose at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 4.8 percent drop in the final quarter of last year.
U.S. exports of goods and services fell by 1.2 percent in the first quarter, the first decline since the second quarter of 2003.That came after exports jumped by 10.6 percent in the previous quarter.
Imports of goods and services increased by 2.3 percent in the first quarter after having declined 2.6 percent in the final quarter of last year. The trade deficit shaved 0.52 of a percentage point off the first-quarter GDP.
Another factor holding back GDP in the first quarter was a 6.6 percent drop in federal defense spending. That was the biggest cut since the final quarter of 2005.
Consumer spending, which accounts for two thirds of overall economic activity, increased at a solid 3.8 percent pace in the first quarter, slightly weaker than the 4.2 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter of last year.
Core prices excluding volatile energy and food, an inflation gauge tied to the GDP report and closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose at a 2.2 percent rate in the first quarter, up from a 1.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter.
The report will usually be revised twice by the Commerce Department in the coming months.
Source: Xinhua News
The reading on real gross domestic product(GDP), the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States, was weaker than the growth rate of 2.5 percent in the final quarter of last year.
It was even below the 1.8 percent rate that many economists have expected for the first three months of this year.
The report showed that the main culprit behind the slowdown in the first quarter was the housing market. Private investment in residential sector plunged by 17.0 percent on an annualized basis.
That followed a pace of 19.8 percent in the previous quarter and marked the sixth consecutive quarterly fall in this area.
Business investment in equipment and software, however, rose at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 4.8 percent drop in the final quarter of last year.
U.S. exports of goods and services fell by 1.2 percent in the first quarter, the first decline since the second quarter of 2003.That came after exports jumped by 10.6 percent in the previous quarter.
Imports of goods and services increased by 2.3 percent in the first quarter after having declined 2.6 percent in the final quarter of last year. The trade deficit shaved 0.52 of a percentage point off the first-quarter GDP.
Another factor holding back GDP in the first quarter was a 6.6 percent drop in federal defense spending. That was the biggest cut since the final quarter of 2005.
Consumer spending, which accounts for two thirds of overall economic activity, increased at a solid 3.8 percent pace in the first quarter, slightly weaker than the 4.2 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter of last year.
Core prices excluding volatile energy and food, an inflation gauge tied to the GDP report and closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose at a 2.2 percent rate in the first quarter, up from a 1.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter.
The report will usually be revised twice by the Commerce Department in the coming months.
Source: Xinhua News
