Washington June 28 (IANS) The US economy grew at a two per cent annualized rate in the first quarter of 2018 two-tenths of a percentage point below the second reading on the gross domestic product (GDP) released in May the Commerce Department said on Thursday.
This is the government s third and final estimate of GDP between January and March. The numbers surprised analysts who had estimated a slight improvement to a 2.3 per cent growth rate Efe news reported.
The slowdown in GDP growth during the first quarter reflected a drop in consumer spending exports federal state and local government spending and a drop in fixed residential investment.
Consumer spending which accounts for nearly two-thirds of GDP in the US was revised downward from 1 per cent to 0.90 per cent after posting a 4.4 per cent rise in the previous quarter the Commerce Department said.
Business investment however showed a robust increase of 5.8 per cent in equipment purchases compared to a 5.5 per cent rise in the previous estimate indicating corporate optimism about the economy.
The first-quarter GDP figures came in far below President Donald Trump s promise to put the country on track for 3 per cent economic growth with tax cuts for businesses and individuals.

--IANS soni/bg