US GDP falls at 1% annual pace in Q1 2014

Gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of U.S. economic growth, fell at a one percent annual pace during the first quarter of this year, according to revised data released on Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The data, which marked the first such downturn since early 2011, follows an increase of a 3.4 percent annual pace in the second half of 2013.
"Today's GDP revision was due almost entirely to a downward revision to the highly volatile inventories category, with small upward revisions to consumer spending and business fixed investment being offset by small downward revisions to net exports and state and local purchases," said Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Overall, the first quarter was subject to a number of notable influences, including historically severe winter weather, which temporarily lowered growth, Furman said in a statement released at the White House.
A range of more up-to-date data from March and April, including jobs, manufacturing, housing and other indicators, provide a more accurate and timely picture of where the economy is today and show that it continues to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, he noted. President Barack Obama "will do everything he can either by acting through executive action or by working with Congress to push for steps that would raise growth and accelerate job creation," Furman added.