Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the advance estimate GDP report. The 0.1 percent annualized growth was below consensus expectations of a 1.1 percent increase and is the economy's slowest expansion since the fourth quarter of 2012. The increase primarily reflected a positive contribution from consumer spending, which added 2.0 percentage points to growth, yet was partly offset by negative contributions from exports, private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending. Analysts suggest that adverse weather played a role in the quarter's growth.
