U.S. economic slowdown continues, government reports

The Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday reported that the U.S. gross domestic product grew by an annualized rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of this year. That’s slower than forecasted by many economists and down from the fourth quarter of last year, when the GDP grew well over 3 percent. That rate, in turn, was slower than the previous increase of nearly 5 percent in the third quarter of 2023.

What led to the decrease this past quarter? According to the report, the government spent less, the county exported less, and consumers bought less. The United States also imported more goods from other countries compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

What does this mean? The U.S. economy is slowing down, according to the report. The Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady around 5.25-5.5 percent for several months after a campaign of steady increases. The central bank will not lower its interest rates until it sees evidence that inflation is sustainably decreasing, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement last month.

Dig deeper: Read David L. Bahnsen’s column in WORLD Opinions about whether the Federal Reserve is overrated.