The U.S. economy shrank more than first thought at the beginning of this year.今年早期，美国经济收缩幅度大于人们的预测。

Wednesday's report from the Commerce Department says the economy shrank at a 2.9 percent annual pace in January, February, and March.美国商务部星期三的报告说，今年头三个月，美国经济收缩的年率是2.9%。

That is much worse than earlier estimates, and the worst economic growth figures in five years. U.S. officials routinely revise economic estimates as new, more complete data becomes available.这比早先人们的预测要糟得多。这是五年来最糟的经济增长数字。美国官员在获得新的更全面的数据后按例要修正增长预测。

Economists blame the slowdown on unusually foul winter weather, and many predict the problem will be temporary.经济学家把经济收缩归因于不同寻常的严冬天气，许多人预测问题是暂时的。

A top White House economic advisor, Jason Furman, says data from April and May show the economy is on track to resume growing soon. 白宫首席经济顾问弗尔曼说，四月和五月的数据显示，经济不久会恢复增长。

However, a second economic study published Wednesday, went against that trend, showing orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly fell in May.但是，星期三公布的第二份经济研究不同意上述增长趋势。这份研究显示，五月耐用制造品的订单出人意料的低。