Washington--The US economy stalled in the first quarter with consumers and businesses trimming spending and the strong dollar and West Coast port strike hitting exports.
The US Commerce Department said Wednesday that the world's largest economy expanded at an annual pace of just 0.2 percent in the January-March period, after 2.2 percent in the final quarter of 2014.
This will add to concerns about sluggish global growth and raise questions about the strength of the US post-crisis recovery.
A low number was anticipated after the modest 2.2 percent expansion in the final quarter of last year, but economists had on average expected a 1.0 percent growth rate.
The fresh data made it more likely that the Federal Reserve, slated to announce an update to monetary policy later Wednesday, will maintain plans to raise interest rates on pause for a little longer to be sure the downturn was an aberration and that the economy will resume solid growth in the current quarter.
AFP
