The economy tumbled at a 5.5 percent pace in the first quarter, according to the estimate of the Gross Domestic Product released by the Commerce Department today. The earlier estimate was a slightly higher 5.7 percent, annualized. The main forces behind the small change: businesses didn’t cut stockpiles of goods as much and imports dropped more sharply than previously estimated.
Additionally, consumers bolstered their spending at a 1.4 percent growth rate, down from 1.5 percent estimated last month. Still, it marked the strongest showing in nearly two years and a huge improvement from the fourth quarter when skittish consumers cut spending by the most in nearly three decades.