Striking a more positive tone, he highlighted the “whopping” 22 per cent rise in gross domestic investment during the first quarter.
Annual economic growth stayed above two per cent in every year of Biden’s presidency, reaching 2.8 per cent in 2024.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s largest economy decreased at an annual rate of 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, after growing 2.4 per cent in the final months of 2024, according to Wednesday’s first estimate from the US Commerce Department.
This was sharply below the market consensus estimate of 0.4 per cent growth, according to Briefing.com, and marked the first quarterly contraction since 2022.
The Commerce Department said in a statement that the contraction was in large part down to an “upturn in imports”, aided by a decline in consumer and government spending.
