Obama administration on economy contracting: Things are trending pretty good

The Department of Commerce has reported the U.S. economy contracted 0.7 percent in the 1st quarter of 2015. However, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said she thinks “things are pretty good” for the economy.

“The first quarter [contraction] is something that’s not unexpected given the severity of the winter, given the fact that the west coast ports slowed down which affected inventories, and given the fact that consumers are still not spending the savings they got from the fact that gas prices are lower.

“So I think things are trending pretty good," Parker said.

The President’s Council of Economic Advisors posted the following on its blog:

"Today’s downward revision to GDP growth was entirely accounted for by revisions to inventory investment and net exports, with other changes being small and neutral on balance. The first-quarter slowdown was the result of harsh winter weather, tepid foreign demand, and consumers saving the windfall from lower oil prices.

"The combination of personal consumption and fixed investment, the most stable components of GDP, has grown 3.4 percent over the past four quarters. This solid long-term economic trend complements the robust pace of job growth and unemployment reduction over the last year.

"The President is committed to further strengthening these positive trends by opening our exports to new markets with new high-standards free trade agreements that create opportunities for the middle class, expanding investments in infrastructure, and ensuring the sequester does not return in the next fiscal year as outlined in the President’s FY2016 Budget."