U.S. economy shrinks in Jan.-March for 1st time in 3 years
20:40, 29 May 2014
WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of 2014 for the first time in three years due to weak private inventory investment, the Commerce Department said Thursday, revising downward an earlier estimate.
The U.S. economy, measured in terms of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, shrank at a real annualized 1.0 percent in the January-March period, the department said, falling short of market projections of a 0.5 percent contraction, Kyodo reports. Unusually cold and snowy weather hit the United States last winter, slowing various economic activities, but the Federal Reserve regards the downturn as "temporary," according to the minutes of last month's policy-setting meeting.