US GDP miss sees shares extend losses

European markets and the US dollar have extended losses after US GDP came in at a lower than expected 2.5% in Q1.

The annualised figure is above the 0.4% seen in Q4 2012 but below the 3% expected by economists, raising fresh questions over the strength of the US recovery. Statistics on consumer spending, a principal driver of the US economy, were more positive, Q1 growth of 3.2% representing the largest rise since Q4 2010, and well up on the Q4 2012 rate of 1.8%. But the growth rate in final sales - which strips out inventory holdings from the headline figure - dropped to 1.5% in Q1, down from the 1.9% rate reported in Q4 last year. The FTSE 100, which had been trading down 0.4% at 6,417 befor...