Economics
Record-Long U.S. Expansion to See Its End in First-Quarter GDP
- Report forecast to show economy shrank at 3.8% annualized rate
- Economy has suffered ‘huge adverse blow,’ panel head says
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask is reflected in the window of a closed store in the Brooklyn Borough of New York.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Less than a year ago, the U.S. economic expansion was celebrated as the longest on record. This week its end will become all but official.
Commerce Department figures due Wednesday are projected to show gross domestic product shrank at a 3.8% annualized rate from January through March amid the Covid-19 pandemic and government-mandated lockdowns aimed at preventing its spread. Such a decline would be the steepest since just before the last recession ended in 2009.