The US economy grew more than previously estimated in the first quarter as Americans bought fewer goods from abroad, helping the trade deficit shrink to a five-year low.
The 0.9 percent gain in gross domestic product from January through March compares with the government's advance estimate of 0.6 percent issued in April, according to revised figures from the Commerce Department today in Washington.
Trade remains the bright spot for an economy that is likely to slow this quarter as surging fuel and food bills and falling home values force consumers to cut back. The shortfall in trade
also narrowed as exports, stoked by growth abroad and a weaker dollar, climbed to a record.
"We are somewhere in the twilight zone between an expansion and a recession,'' said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. "We will have a poor pace of growth through the year."
A separate report today showed that initial claims for unemployment insurance were higher than economists had forecast last week. First-time claims rose to 372,000 from 368,000 the
previous week, the Labor Department reported.
Treasuries, which had dropped earlier in the day, pared their losses. Ten-year notes yielded 4.06 per cent at 9.01am in New York, from 4 per cent late yesterday.
Bloomberg