today’s data, 2010-04-30

GDP increased at a 3.2% annual rate January through March, but this figure was slightly lower than the expected 3.3% increase, and a falloff from the 5.6% boost at the end of 2009. However, that fourth-quarter GDP increase was largely the result of a slowdown in inventory liquidation from earlier in 2009. Furthermore, a high note of the Commerce Department's report is that consumer spending jumped 3.6% in the first quarter, compared with 1.6% in the fourth quarter of last year. It contributed 2.55 percentage points to GDP.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sent iment index for April came in lower than March data. The final reading for April was 72.2, which is a decrease from the 73.6 posted last month, but still higher than economists' predictions of 71.0.