Investing.com - The U.S. economy grew less than expected in the first quarter, adding to concerns over the strength of the world’s largest economy, official preliminary data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.2% in the three months ended March 31, below expectations for growth of 1%. The U.S. economy expanded by 2.2% in the preceding quarter.
The data showed personal consumption rose 1.9% in the first three months of the year, slightly above expectations for a 1.7% gain, and compared to a 4.4% increase in the preceding quarter.
Consumer spending typically accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth.
The GDP price index fell by 0.1% in the first quarter, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase and up from 0.1% in the preceding quarter.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1031 from around 1.1008 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5389 from 1.5368 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.06 from 119.19 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.84, compared to 96.00 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures indicated a loss of 0.4% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.4%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,209.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,208.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $56.62 a barrel from $56.84 earlier.