The US has seen a deceleration in growth over the first quarter of 2016, compared to growth in the last quarter of 2015. GDP rose at an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, below forecasts of 0.7 per cent and less than half the rate rise of the last quarter of 2015. A fall in corporate investment driven by energy companies suffering from the low oil price and a deteriorating US trade deficit contributed to this lacklustre GDP growth figure. Nonetheless, there is a steady improvement in the jobs market which signals a healthy economy despite this latest release.