[Reuters Next]U.S. first quarter GDP likely to be revised upward, inflation likely to decline – Treasury Secretary | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that the U.S. economy’s growth rate fell to its lowest level in nearly two years in the first quarter, but could be revised upward. He also said that inflation would fall to more normal levels.

The preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2024, announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce on the 25th, was an annualized increase of 1.6% compared to the previous quarter. Growth slowed significantly from the previous quarter’s 3.4% growth, and was almost the lowest level in two.See more

In response, Yellen said in an interview with Reuters that GDP growth fell short of the 2.4% growth expected by the market, but said, “The reasons for this are idiosyncratic and do not indicate underlying strength.” ” he emphasized.

He added, “The U.S. economy continues to perform very well,” adding, “What I’m most focused on is the strength of personal consumption and investment spending. “So this is a sign of the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, that it continues to be strong and that the economy is firing on all cylinders.”

The core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, which excludes food and energy, which the Fed focuses on as a price indicator, rose 3.7%, an acceleration from the 2.0% rise in the previous quarter, but Yellen said the inflation rate He said he did not see this as an indication that other areas of the economy, particularly the labor market, needed to soften in order to return to the 2% target. “Current fundamentals are consistent with inflation continuing to return to normal levels,” he said. “We see no reason why unemployment needs to rise to contain inflation. The data shows that inflation is trending downward. “This shows that there is a

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