GDP shrinks less than estimated, thanks to consumer spending

Washington

THE world's largest economy shrank in the first quarter, just not as much as previously estimated, assisted by a bigger gain in consumer spending.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a 0.2 per cent annualised rate, compared with a previously reported 0.7 per cent drop, revised data from Commerce Department showed on Wednesday in Washington. That matched the median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.