DPA | 01 May, 2010
The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first three months of 2010, according to the US Commerce Department's first estimate released Friday, extending the US recovery from a deep recession in 2009.
The growth figure was roughly in line with analysts' estimates and together with growth of 5.6 percent in the last quarter of 2009, it marked the strongest six-month stretch in seven years.
Over the same January-March period one year ago, the world's largest economy shrank a massive 6.2 percent, at the height of its worst US recession in generations.
Strong consumer demand helped fuel the gains at the start of this year, signalling that the private sector may slowly be starting to pick up as government spending measures to prop up the recovery are beginning to wind down.
Consumer spending climbed 3.6 percent in the first three months of 2010, compared to just 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
But there was a slowdown in some other indicators. Private company inventories gained 1.6 percent after climbing 3.8 percent in the previous quarter.
