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The US economy grew at its slowest pace in two years during the first three months of 2016, raising questions over the durability of its seven-year expansion at a time of global uncertainty.
2016年第一季度美国经济增速是两年以来的最低水平，在全球经济不确定的时期，这使美国已经持续7年的扩张的持久性受到了质疑。
Gross domestic product rose 0.5 per cent — less than half the rate of the previous quarter — thanks to falling corporate investment and lower exports. The numbers were also held back by a deceleration in consumer spending growth, despite rising personal incomes.
在企业投资下降和出口下降的影响下，美国一季度国内生产总值(GDP)增长0.5%，不到上一个季度的一半。尽管个人收入增加，但消费者支出增长依然减速，这也阻碍了GDP增长率。
The figures reflect a cautious mood after turbulent global economic and financial conditions early in the year. They will strengthen calls for the Federal Reserve to tread carefully before lifting interest rates again. The central bank raised rates for the first time in almost a decade last December. The Fed this week left policy unchanged but did not give a firm signal as to when it next expects to tighten monetary policy.
这些数据反映出今年初全球经济和金融动荡之后的谨慎情绪，它们将加强要求美联储(Fed)在再次加息前审慎把握的呼声。去年12月，美国央行进行了近10年来首次加息。本周美联储没有更改政策，也没有就下次将在何时收紧货币政策给出明确的信号。
“We have been slowing down since last year — this is not a one-quarter -phenomenon,” said Joseph LaVorgna at Deutsche Bank. “It is surprising that the consumer has not done better given strong jobs growth and low energy prices.”
“自去年以来我们一直在放缓——这不是一个季度的现象，”德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)的约瑟夫•拉沃尔尼亚(Joseph LaVorgna)表示，“考虑到强劲的就业增长和低廉的能源价格，消费者没有做的更好令人惊讶。”
The deceleration comes amid sluggish growth around the world, with the International Monetary Fund this month cutting its global forecasts for the fourth time in a year.
美国增长的减速正值全球各地的增长乏力之际，本月国际货币基金组织(IMF)一年来第4次下调全球增长预测。
Worries about Japan’s outlook were heightened yesterday when the Bank of Japan held rates despite data showing the country had tumbled back into deflation.
尽管数据表明日本已经跌回通缩，但昨日日本央行(Bank of Japan)维持了利率水平，这使人们对日本前景的忧虑加深。
Some economists said US growth rates might recover from weak first-quarter numbers, which missed forecasts of 0.7 per cent. Sluggish starts to the year are not unusual, prompting some analysts to argue there are problems with how statisticians adjust for seasonal factors. The US grew only 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 and shrank 0.9 per cent at the start of 2014.
美国一季度经济增长不及0.7%的预期，一些经济学家表示，美国经济增长率或许将从这一低迷数据恢复。新年伊始表现乏力并不罕见，这促使一些分析师提出统计学家的季节性因素调整存在问题。2015年首季美国经济仅增长0.6%，2014年首季则萎缩了0.9%。
Brian Schaitkin, an economist at the Conference Board, said: “Since the end of the Great Recession . . . first-quarter GDP growth figures have shown a consistent pattern of being weaker than those for the rest of the year, which suggests that a small rise is in store in 2016.”
世界大型企业研究会(Conference Board)的经济学家布赖恩•谢特金(Brian Schaitkin)表示：“自大衰退结束以来……首季GDP增长数据呈现出逊于该年剩余时间的一贯模式，这似乎表明2016年接下来将出现小幅增长。”
Growth in household spending — the motor of the US recovery — slowed to 1.9 per cent in the first quarter from 2.4 per cent previously, despite a healthier 2.9 per cent increase in disposable income.
拉动美国复苏的引擎——家庭支出增长从上一个季度的2.4%放缓至今年一季度的1.9%，尽管可支配收入增长了2.9%，表现更为健康。
The fall in corporate investment was driven by energy companies cutting back on capital spending owing to the decline in oil prices. That has ricocheted to the factory sector, with the demand for items used by oil groups falling. The US trade deficit also dragged on the numbers as the surging dollar crushed exports, which fell 2.6 per cent.
企业投资的下降源于能源企业因油价下跌而削减资本支出。石油企业所用设备的需求下降，拖累了工厂领域。美国贸易赤字也拖累了增长数据，美元飙升对出口造成冲击，导致出口下降2.6%。
The data come just a day after the Fed warned that “growth in economic activity appears to have slowed” even as the labour market continues to improve.
该数据是在美联储发出警告后仅一天公布的。美联储称，尽管就业市场持续改善，“经济活动增长似乎有所放缓”。
