GDP shows 2.5 percent growth in Q1
GDP grew 2.5 percent in Q1 2013, according to the latest GDP report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The latest quarterly results indicate that the most notable source of weakness in the economy came from declines in government spending.
The economy grew slower than most hoped in Q1 2013, with GDP improving at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from Q4 2012.
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Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released their first "estimate" of the Q1 2013 GDP report showing that the economy grew in the quarter with real GDP improving at an annualized rate of 2.5% from Q4 2012.
On a year-over-year basis, real GDP increased 1.80% while the quarter-to-quarter non-annualized percent change was an increase of 0.62%.
The latest quarterly results indicate that the most notable source of weakness in the economy came from declines in government spending particularly on national defense with a 11.5% decline in federal national defense spending from Q4.
Residential investment, on the other hand, worked to buoy the overall fixed investment component growing at an annualized rate of 12.6% from Q3.
Keep in mind that these results are likely very poorly estimated and are sure to be revised notably in following quarters and even years to come.