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| US economic slowdown confirmed by growth figures | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| US growth slowed in the first three months of 2011 to an annualised rate of 1.8%, which is a 0.4% quarterly rise, the Commerce Department has confirmed. | US growth slowed in the first three months of 2011 to an annualised rate of 1.8%, which is a 0.4% quarterly rise, the Commerce Department has confirmed. |
| This compares with an annual growth rate of 3.1% in the final three months of 2010. | |
| The slowdown was blamed on corporate profits unexpectedly contracting for the first time in more than two years. | |
| Many analysts had been expecting the growth figure to be revised upwards to about 2%. | |
| 'Soft patch' | |
| US GDP is expressed as an annualised rate, or annual pace, which shows what the three months' economic activity would mean if it carried on for a year. | US GDP is expressed as an annualised rate, or annual pace, which shows what the three months' economic activity would mean if it carried on for a year. |
| Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US GDP, was revised down from 2.7% to 2.2%. | |
| That was balanced by an upward revision to the amount of money businesses were spending on restocking, which was increased from $43.8bn (£26.8bn) to $52.2bn. | |
| "There is no doubt the economy has slowed. We will call the first half of 2011 as a soft patch," said Robert Dye at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh. |