U.S. economy seen growing 0.7 percent in first quarter: Atlanta Fed

[April 02, 2016]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is growing at a 0.7 percent pace in the first quarter following data that showed construction spending unexpected fell in February but rose more than previously reported in January, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Friday.

This was a bit faster than the 0.6 percent annualized pace for U.S. gross domestic product seen for the first three months in Fed's prior estimate on March 28, the Atlanta Fed said on its website.

The forecast for first-quarter real residential investment growth was revised up to 9.1 percent from 7.8 percent while the forecast for real nonresidential structures investment growth was adjusted to -8.4 percent from -9.3 percent, the regional central bank said.

On Friday, the Commerce Department said construction spending declined by 0.5 percent in February, falling short of the 0.1 percent increase forecast among analysts polled by Reuters. The January figure was upgraded to a 2.1 percent gain from a previously reported 1.5 percent rise.

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

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