We first heard that the GDP contraction of 1% was an anomaly. Now, the Commerce Department has revised its report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, stating the the GDP fell -2.9% in the first quarter.
Here’s the summary:
“Real GDP declined 2.9 percent in the first quarter, after increasing 2.6 percent in the fourth. This downturn in the percent change in real GDP primarily reflected a downturn in exports, a larger decrease in private inventory investment, a deceleration in PCE, and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by an upturn in federal government spending”.
Exports dropped 8.9%
Real final sales of domestic product dropped 1.3%
Real nonresidential fixed investment decreased 1.2%
Nonresidential structures decreased 7.7%
Equipment decreased 2.8%
Real residential fixed investment decreased 4.2%
The one bright spot? Intellectual property products increased 6.3%
You can read the highlights of the report here, along with the May durable-goods report and business investment outlook.
If we see a negative GDP after the second quarter, we’ll be in recession territory again.