2nd Estimate: U.S. 1Q GDP Grew 1.3%

Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.3% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the “second estimate” released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on May 25. Real GDP increased 2.6% in the fourth quarter of last year.

The “second” estimate is based on “more complete source data than were available for the ‘advance’ estimate” issued in April, according to the BEA. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 1.1%.

The updated estimate “primarily reflected an upward revision to private inventory investment,” the BEA said in a news release.

The bureau said the increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, federal government spending, state and local government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by decreases in private inventory investment and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

Compared to the fourth quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected a downturn in private inventory investment and a slowdown in nonresidential fixed investment, according to the BEA.

Current-dollar GDP increased 5.4% at an annual rate, or $348.3 billion, to $26.49 trillion in the first quarter, an upward revision of $20.4 billion from the previous estimate. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.8% in the first quarter, the same as previously estimated.