First-quarter U.S. GDP growth revised up to 0.8 percent

ROMBEL ON BUSINESS

U.S. economic growth slowed in the first three months of the year, but not quite as much as first reported a month ago.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today revised upward its first-quarter estimate of the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 0.8 percent, from the 0.5 percent it reported on April 28.

The first-quarter GDP growth was down from 1.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of last year, 2 percent in the third quarter, and 3.9 percent in the second quarter.

The first-quarter GDP reading’s upward revision was led by a bigger gain in residential fixed investment and smaller drags from private inventory investment, exports, and imports than first thought, according to the BEA data.

The BEA defines real GDP as the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy, minus the value of the goods and services used up in production, adjusted for price.

Today’s revised GDP estimate is subject to yet another revision by the BEA, as more updated information is incorporated. The bureau said it will issue a third estimate for first-quarter GDP on June 28.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com