The US economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to a revised estimate issued Wednesday by the Commerce Department. The estimate by the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis is the third and final for the January-March period and is based on more complete source data, dpa reported. An initial estimate issued in April had pointed to a growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.2 per cent, while the second estimate issued in May estimated a decrease of 0.7 per cent. The bureau attributed the upward revision to data showing exports had decreased less than previously measured and said personal consumption expenditures and imports increased more than earlier estimates indicated. It also said that in the fourth quarter of 2014 real GDP increased 2.2 per cent. The decrease in GDP in the first quarter of 2015 primarily reflected a deceleration in consumer spending and downturns in exports due to the stronger dollar. Personal spending increased 2.1 per cent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 4.4 per cent in the fourth. Exports of goods and services decreased 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, in contrast to an increase of 4.5 per cent in the fourth.
