The US economy grew slightly faster in the first quarter than first thought, according to a government report today that also showed a slowing recovery in corporate profits.
US gross domestic product - which measures total output within the nation's borders - expanded at an upwardly revised 4.4 per cent annual rate.
The revised growth figure, just shy of consensus expectations on Wall Street, was only slightly above the 4.2 per cent gain seen in the initial snapshot of first-quarter growth a month ago.
The dollar eased against the euro on the report while Treasury bonds rose as financial markets took solace from a downward revision in a price gauge within the GDP report.
While the GDP report confirmed an acceleration in inflation evident in the first report last month, some closely watched price measures were scaled back.
The core price index for consumer spending - a favourite of Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan that cuts out volatile food and energy prices - gained at an annual rate of 1.7 per cent , a downward revision from an originally reported 2 per cent pace.
But many economists remain convinced the Fed will raise interest rates at its next meeting at the end of June to head off building inflation pressures.
The latest GDP report showed after-tax corporate profits rose a tepid 1.4 per cent in the January-March period, compared with the fourth quarter. It was the weakest profit performance since the first quarter of last year, when earnings fell.
A solid gain in consumer spending, which drives about two-thirds of US GDP, accounted for more than half of the growth in the first quarter. The department said consumer spending rose at a revised 3.9 per cent pace, a bit faster than first reported. Over the last four quarters, US GDP has risen 5 per cent - the strongest advance since 1984.