Investing.com – Gross domestic product (GDP) in the U.S. showed a larger-than-expected deceleration in the first quarter to the slowest pace in two years, according to official preliminary data released on Thursday.
In a report, the Bureau of Economic Analaysis said that GDP growth dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.5%, from the 1.4% expansion registered in the fourth quarter of 2015.
That was the slowest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2014 and missed consensus expectations for a 0.7% increase.
The GDP price index for its part rose 0.7% in the first quarter, compared to the prior reading of a 0.9% increase and forecasts for a 0.6% gain.
Immediately after the report, which was released simultaneously with the weekly initial jobless claims, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1346 from around 1.1349 ahead of the publication; GBP/USD was unchanged at 1.4576; while USD/JPY was flat at 108.28.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 93.86, compared to 93.82 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures showed no reaction and pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures fell 133 points, or 0.74%, the S&P 500 futures lost 14 points, or 0.66%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 17 points, or 0.38%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,258.35 a troy ounce, compared to $1,259.85 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.39 a barrel from $45.34 earlier.