The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 as disappointing figures were hit by another slide in federal defence spending.
Defence knocked 0.6 percentage points off the total, following a similar decline in the fourth quarter of last year, suggesting that cuts to the military under sequestration are biting deep.
Final sales to domestic purchasers – a measure that gives one of the best indications of underlying demand in the economy because it strips out exports and inventories – rose by a modest 1.9 per cent compared with 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012.
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