Washington
The US economy picked up steam in the beginning of the year as the United States and Israel launched a destabilizing war with Iran that has jacked up prices and is still ongoing.
Gross domestic product, which measures all the goods and services produced in the economy, registered a 2% annualized rate in the January-through-March period, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up sharply from the fourth quarter’s 0.5%. That was slightly lower than the 2.3% rate economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet. GDP is adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation.
The first-quarter figure shows the economy headed into the Iran war on strong footing, boosted by bigger tax returns that helped offset the initial uptick in prices at the pump. But the Middle East conflict is now in its ninth week, and economists broadly agree that the longer it lasts, the more damage it will inflict on the US economy. It’s also prompting the Federal Reserve to delay any further rate cuts, with global oil prices still firmly above $100 a gallon, which is keeping US gas prices elevated.
This story is developing and will be updated.
