White House downplays first-quarter contraction

The White House is downplaying Friday's downward revision of the gross domestic product, attributing a small first-quarter contraction to temporary factors.

"The first-quarter slowdown was the result of harsh winter weather, tepid foreign demand, and consumers saving the windfall from lower oil prices," said statement from Jason Furman, who chairs President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.

The Commerce Department announced Friday that, after revisions of initial estimates, the GDP shrank by an 0.7% annual rate between January and March.

In his statement, Furman pointed to other statistics: "The combination of personal consumption and fixed investment, the most stable components of GDP, has grown 3.4 percent over the past four quarters."

Furman also called for approval of a proposed free trade agreement with Asian nations, saying it would boost the economy.

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