The growth of the US gross domestic product slowed down in the first quarter of this year much more than expected, to 0,1% from the 2,6% recorded in the last quarter of 2013. This was announced by the Commerce Department, which it had already revised the figure for the three months October-December from the initial +2,4%. Analysts' expectations for January-March were for growth of 1,1%. That of the first quarter of 2014 is the lowest growth in five years.
In the January-March quarter, the US economy was above all less performing in terms of business investment (-5,5%, the largest drop in the last five years) and was conditioned by the weakness of exports. The strong slowdown, however, follows the strong growth rate (+3,4%) recorded by the US GDP in the second half of 2013. The adverse climatic conditions that characterized the period under consideration also weighed on the figure, significantly curbing the growth in spending on consumer goods at just +0,4% (+3,3% in the previous quarter), while consumer spending as a whole grew by 3% against +3,3% in the last three months of 2013 (dynamics in any case guided by the allocations for health and public services.
Exports, on the other hand, fell by 7,6%: this is the worst figure since the recession ended and, according to experts, it testifies that the weakness of the economies of Europe and Asia is having serious repercussions in the demand for US goods and services. Meanwhile, imports decreased by 1,4%.
