US Economy Revised Down to 0.2% Contraction in Q1

The United States raised its estimates for the economy's performance in the first quarter of this year in the second reading, but it remains contracting.

According to official data released, Thursday, the US gross domestic product (GDP) declined by about 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025, higher than the initial reading, which indicated a contraction of 0.3%.

Meanwhile, consumer spending slowed during the period but remained in positive territory, with personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rising by 1.2%, the slowest quarterly growth rate since the second quarter of 2023, compared to a 4% increase in the previous quarter.

Conversely, private domestic investment jumped by about 24.4%, compared to a 5.6% decline in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Government consumption expenditures and total investment declined by about 0.7%, after a 3.1% increase in the fourth quarter of last year.

The data indicated that the personal consumption expenditures price index grew by 3.6%, the same as the first reading, while the index excluding food and energy grew by 3.5%, about 0.1% higher than the first reading.