WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2021) US Gross Domestic Product likely expanded by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, as the world's largest economy rebounded sharply from the lows of the coronavirus pandemic after a surge in consumer spending.
"Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to the 'advance' estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis," the Commerce Department said in statement.
Typically, the department issues three GDP readings for each quarter, with Thursday's being its first estimate for the January-March period.
For the fourth quarter of 2020, GDP grew by 4.3 percent, the department said in its final reading issued on March 25.
The first quarter estimate released Thursday came in slightly lower than the 6.6 percent forecasts by economists polled by US media.
"The underlying picture is even stronger than the headline," economist Adam Button said in a comment posted on ForexLive. "Trade and inventories were a big drag in the quarter but consumer spending and investment bode well going forward. A huge jump in new truck sales skewed durable consumer spending higher but even as that fades, spending elsewhere will pick up the torch."
Consumer spending got a boost at the start of the year, helped by COVID-19 relief checks of $1,400 per person sent out by the Treasury.
While the Q4 GDP growth for last year was positive, the economy still shrank 3.5 percent for all 2020 due to COVID-19 related measures. One main reason was that some nine million jobs lost at the height of the pandemic have not returned, officials said.
The Federal Reserve has forecast a 6.5 percent GDP for all of 2021, although it says it does not expect "full employment" � defined by an unemployment rate of 4.0 percent or lower � to return before 2023. The unemployment rate stood at 6 percent at the end of March.
