Economic Growth Slows to Four-Year Low

April 27, 2007 -- A weaker housing market kept economic growth over the first quarter to its slowest pace in nearly four years, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Gross domestic product, a gauge of the total output of all goods and services produced in the U.S., grew by a 1.3 percent annual rate between January and March, roughly half the pace of the previous quarter, the report said.

Though consumer spending -- typically a driving force behind economic growth -- rose by 3.8 percent, higher gas prices and lower home values are widely expected to curb spending in the months ahead.

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