The U.S. economy grew at a lackluster 1.3% annual rate from January through March as businesses wary of an economic slowdown trimmed their inventories, the government said Thursday, a slight upgrade from its initial estimate.

The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate last quarter.

The Commerce Department's revised measure of growth in the nation's gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — marked a deceleration from the second half of 2022.

Despite the first-quarter slowdown, consumer spending, which accounts for around 70% of America's economic output, rose at a healthy pace.

The steady weakening of economic growth is a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation, with 10 interest rate hikes over the past 14 months. Across the economy, the Fed’s rate increase have elevated the costs of auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans.

With mortgage rates having doubled over the past year, the real estate market has already taken a beating: Investment in housing fell from January through March. In April, sales of existing homes were 23% below their level a year earlier.

Share:
More In Business
Stanley Tumbler Survives Car Fire
The marketing slogan for Stanley Tumbler flask products is built for life and it looks like one video proves that to be true after a woman showed her burned-out car on TikTok along with her Tumbler cup, which was left undamaged.
Elon Musk's X Sues Media Matters
'X' owner Elon Musk says he is suing watchdog group Media Matters after the group published an analysis writing that the social media company was placing advertisements from several brands next to anti-Semitic content.
Load More