US economic growth for last quarter is revised up slightly to a 1.4% annual rate

AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a 1.4% annual pace from January through March, the slowest quarterly growth since spring 2022, the government said in a slight upgrade from its previous estimate. Consumer spending grew at just a 1.5% rate, down from an initial estimate of 2%, in a sign that high interest rates may be taking a toll on the economy. The first quarter’s GDP growth marked a sharp pullback from a strong 3.4% pace during the final three months of 2023. Still, the report showed that the January-March slowdown was caused mainly by two factors — a surge in imports and a drop in business inventories — that don’t necessarily reflect the underlying health of the economy.