Growth frozen as Q1 GDP grows just 0.1%

Washington

THE US economy barely grew at all in the first quarter as harsh winter weather chilled investment and exports dropped. The stall occurred even as consumer spending on services rose by the most in 14 years.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 0.1 per cent annualised rate from January through March, compared with a 2.6 per cent gain in the prior quarter, figures from the Commerce Department showed yesterday in Washington. The median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 1.2 per cent increase.