U.S. economy sees Jan.-March contraction, but consumer spending solid

The U.S. economy shrank an annualized real 1.4 percent in the January to March period, its first contraction in nearly two years, Commerce Department data showed Thursday, but solid consumer spending despite a resurgence in coronavirus cases and higher inflation provided signs of resilience in domestic demand.The shrinkage of the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product was unexpected, with the average market forecast having been a 1.1 percent growth. The world's largest economy had continued to grow after diving 31.2 percent in the April-June quarter of 2020, during the early stage of the…READ FULL ARTICLE