美國一季度國內生產總值增長0.5%

The US economy grew at its slowest pace in two years during the first three months of 2016, raising questions over the durability of its seven-year expansion at a time of global uncertainty.

2016年第一季度美國經濟增速是兩年以來的最低水平，在全球經濟不確定的時期，這使美國已經持續7年的擴張的持久性受到了質疑。

Gross domestic product rose 0.5 per cent — less than half the rate of the previous quarter — thanks to falling corporate investment and lower exports. The numbers were also held back by a deceleration in consumer spending growth, despite rising personal incomes.

在企業投資下降和出口下降的影響下，美國一季度國內生產總值(GDP)增長0.5%，不到上一個季度的一半。儘管個人收入增加，但消費者支出增長依然減速，這也阻礙了GDP增長率。

The figures reflect a cautious mood after turbulent global economic and financial conditions early in the year. They will strengthen calls for the Federal Reserve to tread carefully before lifting interest rates again. The central bank raised rates for the first time in almost a decade last December. The Fed this week left policy unchanged but did not give a firm signal as to when it next expects to tighten monetary policy.

這些數據反映出今年初全球經濟和金融動盪之後的謹慎情緒，它們將加強要求美聯儲(Fed)在再次加息前審慎把握的呼聲。去年12月，美國央行進行了近10年來首次加息。本週美聯儲沒有更改政策，也沒有就下次將在何時收緊貨幣政策給出明確的信號。

“We have been slowing down since last year — this is not a one-quarter -phenomenon,” said Joseph LaVorgna at Deutsche Bank. “It is surprising that the consumer has not done better given strong jobs growth and low energy prices.”

“自去年以來我們一直在放緩——這不是一個季度的現象，”德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)的約瑟夫•拉沃爾尼亞(Joseph LaVorgna)表示，“考慮到強勁的就業增長和低廉的能源價格，消費者沒有做的更好令人驚訝。”

The deceleration comes amid sluggish growth around the world, with the International Monetary Fund this month cutting its global forecasts for the fourth time in a year.

美國增長的減速正值全球各地的增長乏力之際，本月國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)一年來第4次下調全球增長預測。

Worries about Japan’s outlook were heightened yesterday when the Bank of Japan held rates despite data showing the country had tumbled back into deflation.

儘管數據表明日本已經跌回通縮，但昨日日本央行(Bank of Japan)維持了利率水平，這使人們對日本前景的憂慮加深。

Some economists said US growth rates might recover from weak first-quarter numbers, which missed forecasts of 0.7 per cent. Sluggish starts to the year are not unusual, prompting some analysts to argue there are problems with how statisticians adjust for seasonal factors. The US grew only 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 and shrank 0.9 per cent at the start of 2014.

美國一季度經濟增長不及0.7%的預期，一些經濟學家表示，美國經濟增長率或許將從這一低迷數據恢復。新年伊始表現乏力並不罕見，這促使一些分析師提出統計學家的季節性因素調整存在問題。2015年首季美國經濟僅增長0.6%，2014年首季則萎縮了0.9%。

Brian Schaitkin, an economist at the Conference Board, said: “Since the end of the Great Recession . . . first-quarter GDP growth figures have shown a consistent pattern of being weaker than those for the rest of the year, which suggests that a small rise is in store in 2016.”

世界大型企業研究會(Conference Board)的經濟學家布賴恩•謝特金(Brian Schaitkin)表示：“自大衰退結束以來……首季GDP增長數據呈現出遜於該年剩餘時間的一貫模式，這似乎表明2016年接下來將出現小幅增長。”

Growth in household spending — the motor of the US recovery — slowed to 1.9 per cent in the first quarter from 2.4 per cent previously, despite a healthier 2.9 per cent increase in disposable income.

拉動美國復甦的引擎——家庭支出增長從上一個季度的2.4%放緩至今年一季度的1.9%，儘管可支配收入增長了2.9%，表現更為健康。

The fall in corporate investment was driven by energy companies cutting back on capital spending owing to the decline in oil prices. That has ricocheted to the factory sector, with the demand for items used by oil groups falling. The US trade deficit also dragged on the numbers as the surging dollar crushed exports, which fell 2.6 per cent.

企業投資的下降源於能源企業因油價下跌而削減資本支出。石油企業所用設備的需求下降，拖累了工廠領域。美國貿易赤字也拖累了增長數據，美元飆升對出口造成衝擊，導致出口下降2.6%。

The data come just a day after the Fed warned that “growth in economic activity appears to have slowed” even as the labour market continues to improve.

該數據是在美聯儲發出警告後僅一天公佈的。美聯儲稱，儘管就業市場持續改善，“經濟活動增長似乎有所放緩”。