GDP Suffers First Decline Since 2014

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), is reporting that the U.S. economy declined in the first quarter of 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-29 virus pandemic. Consumer spending, private domestic investments, as well as exports and imports all declined. According to the BEA’s ‘advanced’ estimates real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of -4.8% in the first quarter of 2020, following a 2.1% increase in the fourth quarter of 2019.This quarter’s figure marked the first negative growth rate since the first quarter of 2014 and the steepest drop since the first quarter of 2009. The longest economic expansion in history, has regrettably come to an end.