Commerce said the first quarter growth came from personal spending (or personal consumption expenditures, PCE in government-speak), which rose 3.6% in 2010′s first quarter, compared to growth of only 1.6% in 2009′s final period. The biggest driver of PCE was purchases of durable goods, which increased 11.3% in the quarter.
Other drivers of growth in the first quarter came from private inventory investment and exports, which rose 5.8%, though imports also increased in the quarter, by 8.9%. Exports in the fourth quarter had increased 22.8%, while imports had risen 15.8%.
View the complete Commerce Department GDP report here.
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