US economy contracts

The US economy contracted in the first quarter as it buckled under the weight of unusually heavy snowfalls, a resurgent dollar and disruptions at West Coast ports, but activity already has rebounded modestly.

The government on Friday slashed its gross domestic product estimate to show GDP shrinking at a 0.7 per cent annual rate instead of the 0.2 per cent growth pace it estimated last month. A larger trade deficit and a smaller accumulation of inventories by businesses than previously thought accounted for much of the downward revision.