The U.S. economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2008 by more then previously reported according to the latest release by the U.S. Commerce Department. The final estimate report released today showed that the U.S. 
Gross Domestic Product contracted at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the October to December 2008 quarter.
Today’s report surpassed February’s preliminary estimate of a 6.2 percent GDP decline and marks the largest quarterly GDP fall since 1982. The third quarter of 2008 GDP fell by 0.5 percent while the second quarter GDP grew by a 2.8 percent. Today’s data did manage to surpass economic forecasts that were expecting a decrease of 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
Contributing largely to the decreased GDP for the fourth quarter was a second consecutive quarterly decline in consumer spending which makes up approximately two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Consumer spending decreased by 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter after decreasing by 3.8 percent in the third quarter and produced the lowest reading since 1980.
Exports declined sharply from the third quarter as exports of goods and services decreased by 23.6 percent in the fourth quarter after increasing by 3.0 percent in the third quarter. Imports declined in the fourth quarter by 17.5 percent following a decline of 3.5 percent in the third quarter.
Weekly Jobless Claims rise.
Weekly U.S. initial jobless claims rose in the week that ended on March 21st according to the U.S. Labor Department today. Jobless claims totaled 652,000 unemployed workers edging up by 8,000 from the week prior that had 644,000 initial jobless claims. The 4-week moving average of unemployed workers fell by 1,000 from the prior week to 649,000 workers.
Meanwhile, workers seeking continued claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending March 14th grew by 122,000 workers to a new record high total of 5,560,000 unemployed workers. The four week moving average of continuing claims grew by 123,750 workers from the previous week to 5,331,250 workers.
Forex Market – US Dollar mixed in Fx Trading today.
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading today against the other major currencies. The dollar has gained so far against the euro, British pound, Swiss franc and Japanese yen while decreasing versus the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars today.
The euro is lower versus the dollar today as the EUR/USD has declined from today’s 1.3568 opening(00:00 GMT) to trading at approximately 1.3529 in the afternoon of the US trading session at 3:43pm EST according to currency data by Oanda.
The British pound has fallen so far today versus the American currency from the 1.4584 opening to trading at 1.4447 dollars per pound and is falling for the second consecutive day.
The dollar is trading higher against the Japanese yen after falling yesterday as the USD/JPY has gained slightly from its 97.79 opening to trading at 98.77 yen per usd. The dollar has declined against the Canadian dollar after opening at 1.2313 earlier today to trading later at 1.2293.
The USD has gained against the Swiss franc after opening at 1.1227 to trading at the 1.1284 exchange rate. The Australian dollar has also gained ground as the AUD/USD has advanced from 0.6993 to 0.7022 while the New Zealand dollar has been virtually unchanged from its opening. The NZD/USD trades at 0.5746 after opening the day at 0.5745.
GBP/USD Chart – The British Pound declining against the US Dollar in Forex Trading for the second consecutive day(Hourly Chart).
