US economy grows at solid pace to start 2026

The United States economy grew at a solid pace over the first three months of 2026, rebounding from sluggish performance at the end of last year, a government report on Thursday showed.

The economy grew at an annualized rate of 2% in the first quarter, marking an acceleration from 0.5% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The performance came in slightly below economists' expectations.

The fresh data covers a period mostly before the outset of the Iran war on Feb. 28, which sent gasoline prices surging and prompted warnings of a possible recession.

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