Annual figures show the US economy grew 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021. The high was confirmed in a review of data released on Thursday (24) by the official statistics office (BEA) of the country’s commerce department.
The performance was better than the 4.3 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.
“GDP growth in the first quarter reflects continued economic recovery, the reopening of stores and the government’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Commerce Department said in a statement.
GDP US 1 Q21 — Photo: G1 Economy
Growth in GDP reflected improvements in personal consumption spending, non-residential fixed investment, government spending, residential fixed investment and state and local government spending, which were partially offset by declines in private investment and exports. Imports, which have a negative impact on GDP, increased.
The US uses a methodology different from that used by most countries for reporting quarterly GDP. In Brazil, for example, IBGE reports quarterly growth in relation to the immediate previous quarter and for the same period of the previous year. On the other hand, annual rate means variation in GDP if this percentage of growth or decline is maintained for the whole year.
