FT: US economy shrinks 6.1% in Q1 2009

US gross domestic product declined by an annualised rate of 6.1pc in the first quarter, after declining by 6.3pc during the fourth quarter of last year. The decline was worse than the 4.7pc that economists expected. The US economy has not contracted for three consecutive quarters since 1975 and the last six months have been the weakest period in 51 years. Imports plunged by 34.1pc while exports fell by 30pc as trade dried up. It was the biggest quarterly decline in exports since 1969. Unemployment, at 8.5pc, sits at a 25-year high. On the bright side, car and retail sales have broadly stabilised; and consumers spending actually rose at an annual rate of 2.2pc. However business investment sank by a sickening 38pc (annual rate), the steepest since records began in 1952.