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
Apple Stock Jumps Following Earnings Report
Julius De Kempenaer, Senior Technical Analyst at Stockcharts.com, joined Cheddar News to break down what led to Apple's massive quarter, and what the future may hold for the tech giant as competition with Microsoft ramps up.
NFT Art Platform TRLab Raises $4.2 Million to Bridge Gap Between Traditional and Digital Art
NFT art platform TRLab recently raised $4.2 million in funding. TRLab launched just last year but says its platform focused on NFT curation and distribution is growing quickly. The company hopes to bridge traditional and digital art worlds and help artists explore NFTs as an emerging medium. TRLab co-founder and chairwoman Xin Li-Cohen and co-founder and CEO Audrey Ou joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Load More