WASHINGTON — The economy logged slightly better — but weak — growth in the first quarter, spurred by improved sales of U.S. products overseas. While that’s heartening, the country’s economy is still far from being out of the woods.
In fact, a closer look behind the 0.9 percent increase in the gross domestic product during the January-to-March period revealed much caution on the part of consumers who have been clobbered by the housing, credit and financial debacles.
Consumers — major shapers of overall activity and thus the economy’s lifeblood — boosted their spending at the slowest pace since the last recession, in 2001. And their decreased appetite for shopping sprees reduced sales of foreign-made imports here, which helped to narrow the trade deficit.
The new GDP reading, released Thursday by the Commerce Department, was an improvement from the government’s initial first-quarter estimate as well as the economy’s performance in the final quarter of last year.
Both periods were pegged at a 0.6 percent growth rate.
