The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2 per cent in the first three months of 2010, according to the US Commerce Department's first estimate released today, extending the United States' recovery from a deep recession in 2009, according to dpa. The growth figure was roughly in line with analysts' estimates. Together with growth of 5.6 per cent in the last quarter of 2009, it marked the strongest six-month stretch in seven years. Over the same January-March period one year ago, the world's largest economy shrank a massive 6.2 per cent, at the height of its worst US recession in generations. US stocks fell in morning trading as the positive growth figures were overshadowed by speculation that investment bank Goldman Sachs could face a criminal probe for its mortgage dealings in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Strong consumer demand helped fuel the gains at the start of this year, signalling that the private sector may slowly be starting to pick up as government spending measures to prop up the recovery are beginning to wind down. Consumer spending climbed 3.6 per cent in the first three months of 2010, compared to just 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009. But there was a slowdown in some other indicators. Private company inventories gained 1.6 per cent after climbing 3.8 per cent in the previous quarter. David Huether, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers, was unimpressed by the numbers. The "deceleration" in the pace of growth from the fourth quarter "signals momentum is not moving in a positive direction." President Barack Obama hailed the news as a sign that the recovery was beginning to gather steam, though he noted that "doesn't mean much" with nearly 10 per cent of Americans still out of work. "After the single biggest economic crisis in our lifetimes, were heading in the right direction," Obama said in a speech from the White House Rose Garden. "That economic heartbeat is growing stronger." US exports, which Obama is hoping to double over the next five years, gained 5.8 per cent after surging by 22.8 per cent in the previous quarter. Imports rose 8.9 per cent after gaining 15.8 per cent in the final three months of 2009.
