First-Quarter GDP Rose at 2.5% Annual Rate

Editor’s note: This corrects a previous version of this story that had stated the GDP figure was for the fourth quarter. It is for the 2013 first quarter.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5% annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The 2.5% gross domestic product upturn, which followed a 0.4% rise in the fourth quarter, was below economists’ median forecast of a 3% increase, Bloomberg News reported.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced.

Consumer spending, which makes up about 70% of the economy, rose by 3.2%, the biggest gain in two years.