US posts shock GDP figure as strong dollar hits growth

US economic growth saw a sharp slowdown in the first quarter of the year as a strong dollar hit exports, and bad weather hampered consumer spending.

Economic growth in the US slowed to an annualised rate of just 0.2% in the first three months of the year, the Commercial Department revealed, a sharp drop from the 2.2% rate of growth recorded in Q4 2014. The figure falls well below analysts' predictions, with economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expecting growth of 1% in the first quarter. A similar slump was seen in the first quarter of last year, when extreme cold weather conditions contributed to a 2.9% contraction in GDP in Q1. Exports were one of the major contributors to the slowdown, having suffered on the back o...