Signs of improvement emerge

摘要

The U.S. gross domestic product shrank 6.1 percent during the first quarter, barely better than the 6.3 percent contraction in the fourth quarter. The two quarters combined marked the economy's worst six-month performance in more than 50 years. However, some economists pointed to the first quarter's large decline in inventories and an uptick in consumer spending as encouraging signs that the economy is getting closer to the beginning of a recovery. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Manager's Index rose to 40.1 percent in April, up from 36.3 percent in March. This marked the PMI's highest reading since September and suggests the pace of economic contraction is slowing (while remaining below 50, typically viewed as the benchmark reading of a growing economy).