U.S. economic growth in the first quarter was revised downward for the second time to 2.7%, official data showed on June 25, falling short of analyst expectations.
The Commerce Department lowered its estimate on gross domestic product growth for the January-March period from the 2009 fourth quarter from an initial estimate of 3.2%, which was revised down to 3% in late May.
The final reading was lower than the average analyst forecast of 3%.
The Commerce Department said that the final figure reflected "an upward revision to imports and a downward revision to personal consumption expenditures that were partly offset by upward revisions to exports and to private inventory investment."
The period marked the third consecutive quarter of growth for the U.S. economy after it emerged from the country's worst recession since the Second World War.
The rate of growth was well below the pace of the final quarter of 2009, when GDP was estimated at 5.6%, the strongest growth in six years.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
