The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.9% in the first three months of
the year, slightly faster than previously thought, official figures have shown.
This equates to a 0.5% quarterly rise. The last estimate by the Commerce
Department showed growth of 1.8%.
This compares with an annualised rate of 3.1% in the final quarter of 2010.
High unemployment and a weak housing market are undermining the US economic
recovery, analysts say.
Corporate profits, in particular, were blamed for the slowdown from the final
quarter of last year.
US GDP is expressed as an annualised rate, which shows what the three months'
economic activity would mean if it carried on for a year.
Separate figures from the Commerce Department showed that orders for heavy
manufactured goods rose by 1.9% in May, compared with a fall of 2.7% the
previous month.
The rise was greater than analysts had expected.
April's drop was due to supply issues following Japan's earthquake and
resulting tsunami in March, analysts said.