April 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday said the national economy grew at a rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, a 1.4 percent decrease from the previous quarter and the weakest showing in three years.
Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Commerce Department said in a statement. "In the fourth quarter of 2016, real GDP increased 2.1 percent."