In the first quarter of 2024, the US economy experienced a slowdown in growth, with consumer and government spending decreasing amidst rising inflation. Despite expectations of a 2.4% increase in gross domestic product (GDP), the actual growth rate was only 1.6%. This represented a significant decrease from the previous quarter’s growth rate of 3.4% and was the weakest since mid-2022.
The primary driver of this slowdown was personal spending, which grew at a pace of only 2.5%. This underscored a loss of momentum at the beginning of 2024, following a strong year of economic performance in 2023. However, as more information becomes available, it will become clearer whether this slowdown is temporary or indicative of longer-term challenges for the US economy.
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