U.S. government confirms 1% 1st quarter GDP

The U.S. economy grew at a 1 percent rate in the first quarter, according to final Commerce Department statistics.

A preliminary report several weeks ago had said U.S. output for the period was 0.9 percent.

Real Gross Domestic Product was 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. The economy was buoyed by expenditures on personal consumption, exports and federal government spending.

Real exports of goods and services increased 5.4 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 6.5 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Real imports of goods and services decreased 0.7 percent, compared with a decrease of 1.4 percent in the prior period. 

Source: American Shipper