The US economy surprisingly took a downturn at the beginning of the year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an annualized 1.4 percent in the first quarter, the Department of Commerce announced on Thursday based on an initial estimate.

Experts surveyed by Reuters, on the other hand, had expected growth of 1.1 percent after GDP had increased by 6.9 percent at the end of 2021.

At that time, many companies had replenished their inventories that had been emptied during the pandemic, which provided a strong economic tailwind.

Despite the signs of an economic slowdown, the Fed implemented the turnaround in interest rates in March and intends to do more next week.

An increase of half a point is expected on the financial markets – the largest jump in interest rates in over 20 years.

The Fed is reacting to the rapidly rising prices in the country.

The US inflation rate rose to its highest level in more than 40 years at 8.5 percent in March, reducing consumer spending power.