The economy continued its downward slide during the first three months of the year, though at a slightly slower pace than during the last quarter of 2008.
The gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of 5.7%, according to a preliminary estimate released by the Commerce Department today. Last month, the department issued an "advanced estimate" of a 6.1% drop during the first quarter of 2009.
The GDP fell 6.3% during the fourth quarter of last year.
The drop was largely fueled by declines in business outlays and both exports and imports.
Real gross domestic purchases -purchases by Americans of goods and services wherever they were produced–fell 7.5%, compared with a 5.9% drop in the last quarter of 2008.
Exports fell 28.7%, compared with a 23.6% decline in the last three months of 2008.
Imports fell 34.1%, compared with 17.5% drop in the previous quarter.
Consumers paid less for many products. The price index for gross domestic purchases fell 1%, compared with a 3.9% drop in the last quarter of 2008.
A bright spot was personal consumption expenditures, which increased 1.5% –down from last month's estimate of 2.2%. Those expenditures declined 4.3% decline during the previous quarter.
Residential fixed investment, which includes housing spending, fell 38%, compared with a 22.8%, drop during the last quarter of 2008.
Another area of good news was in corporate profits, which increased $42.6 billion, after falling $250.3 billion in the final three months of 2008.
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