U.S. GDP Declines 0.3% As Economy Shrinks For First Time in 3 YearsJohn Carney 30 Apr 2025
The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter despite underlying strength in consumer spending and business investment.
Gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3 percent, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.
The decline in U.S. gross domestic product marks a sharp reversal from the 2.4 percent growth rate recorded at the end of last year. This was the slowest rate of growth since 2022, when the economy avoided an official recession but contracted for two consecutive quarters.
Final sales to private domestic purchasers, a closely watched measure of business and consumer health that is seen as a better predictor of future growth, expanded at a healthy pace of three percent. That’s an acceleration from the fourth quarter of 2024’s 2.9 percent growth rate. After-tax personal income rose 2.7 percent, up from 1.9 percent and the strongest increase since the first quarter of last year.
Consumer spending rose 1.8 percent, the slowest rate since the first quarter of last year. Spending on durable goods fell while consumer spending on nondurables and services increased at a slower pace than the end of last year.
The contraction in overall GDP was driven by a widening trade gap, as imports surged ahead of new tariffs announced by the Trump administration as part of its efforts to reshape global trade and put the U.S. economy on a more sustainable path. Imports rose at a 41.3 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, including a 50.9 percent increase in imported goods.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2025/04/30/u-s-economy-falls-0-3-as-economy-shrink-for-first-time-in-3-years/
