WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.3% annual pace from January through March, the weakest quarterly rate since spring 2022, U.S. Department of Commerce said. 

It previously estimated the nation’s gross domestic product ha expanded at a 1.6% rate in Q1 ’24.

The first quarter's GDP growth marked a sharp slowdown from the 3.4% rate in the final three months of 2023.

Last quarter's pullback was due mainly to two factors: a surge in imports and a reduction in business inventories. Those tend to fluctuate quarter to quarter. Thursday's report showed imports subtracted more than 1 percentage point from the previous quarter's growth. A reduction in business inventory cut it by nearly 0.5%.

By contrast, consumer spending, which fuels about 70% of economic growth, rose at a 2% annual rate, down from 2.5% in the first estimate and from 3%-plus rates in the previous two quarters. Spending on goods such as appliances and furniture fell at a 1.9% annual pace, the largest quarterly drop since 2021.

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