The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter, weighed down by a deluge of goods imported by businesses eager to avoid higher costs, underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump's often chaotic tariff policy.
Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.3% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of first-quarter GDP on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that GDP increased at a 0.3% pace in the January-March period. The survey was, however, concluded before data on Tuesday showed the goods trade deficit surged to an all-time high in March amid record imports, which prompted most economists to sharply downgrade their GDP estimates.
Source Name : Economic Times