US economy shrank 2.9pc in first quarter

 WASHINGTON, June 25 (AFP): The US economy shrank 2.9 per cent in the first quarter, the sharpest contraction in five years, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
The previous estimate was a 1.0 per cent contraction for the first three months of the year, and analysts had expected a more modest 1.8 per cent decline.
The Commerce Department said it downwardly revised its May gross domestic product number after newly available data showed weaker growth in consumer spending and a larger increase in exports.
The contraction in the world's largest economy was the steepest since the 2009 first quarter, when the US was mired in deep recession following the 2008 financial crisis.