US Data Confirms Rapid 6.4% Growth In First Quarter

A final estimate of first quarter growth confirmed the US economy expanded by a rapid 6.4 percent annualized in the period from January to March of this year, the government said Thursday

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jun, 2021 ) :A final estimate of first quarter growth confirmed the US economy expanded by a rapid 6.4 percent annualized in the period from January to March of this year, the government said Thursday.

The figure was unchanged from the initial estimate in late April, the Commerce Department said, and represents the last of two revisions made to growth figures the US government releases each quarter.

The measure, which shows how fast the economy would expand if the growth rate continued for a full year, was the fastest first quarter gain since January-March 1984, and came after the Covid-19 pandemic caused a 3.5 percent contraction in 2020 -- the worst since modern recordkeeping began in 1946.

Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics said there would likely be a strong expansion in the April-June second quarter as well, but the rate could flag later in 2021 as government stimulus measures end.

"There is less certainty further out; even as a better health backdrop and a pick (up) in job growth should be supportive of GDP, fading support from fiscal measures could be a headwind in the second half," she said in an analysis.

Markets and policymakers are paying particularly close attention to inflation amidan ongoing debate over whether prices will spike persistently as the economy bounces back from the pandemic, or if the increases will prove to be temporary.