GDP (Q1 1st Estimate)

First-quarter GDP growth came in at a disappointing 2.2% annualised, but the undershoot compared with the 2.5% consensus forecast was largely explained by an unexpected second consecutive quarterly slump in defence spending, which subtracted 0.4% from overall growth. At least private sector spending posted a decent gain, although we'll find out over the next few months just how much of that gain was due to the mild winter.