The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter as supply disruptions weighed on output and masked underlying strength in consumer and business spending that suggested growth will soon resume.
The decline in U.S. gross domestic product at a 1.4% annual rate marked a sharp reversal from a 6.9% annual growth rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The first quarter was the weakest since spring 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic and related shutdowns drove the U.S. economy into a deep—albeit short—recession.