GDP revised up to 2% growth rate in first quarter
Zachary Halaschak
The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday that first-quarter GDP growth clocked in at a 2% annual rate, adjusted for inflation, a major upward revision from the previous estimate of 1.3%.
Thursday’s report, which is the third and final GDP estimate for this year’s first quarter, indicates that the economy was able to stay above water despite rising interest rates and other economic headwinds.
Still, first-quarter GDP growth was lower than the preceding quarter's 2.6% clip, showing a slowdown attributable in part to the Federal Reserve’s campaign to tighten monetary policy and drive down inflation.
After more than a year of successive rate hikes, some by very aggressive margins, this month, the Fed opted to hold rates steady at 5% to 5.25%, a pause that the Fed itself has indicated might be merely temporary.
"While the economy has outperformed expectations, our base case is that the lagged and cumulative effects of restrictive policy will slow the pace of activity going forward, to a below-potential pace," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/gdp-revised-up-to-2-growth-rate-in-first-quarter
