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The US economic expansion faltered badly in the first quarter with gross domestic product rising by a sluggish 0.2 per cent annual pace, which could influence policy makers’ decision on when to lift interest rates.
美联储(Fed)表示，美国经济复苏失去势头，而招聘节奏已经放缓，从而引发人们预期，美联储不太可能在夏季加息。
The growth figure was a fraction of the 1 per cent rate of expansion predicted by economists, and marked a sharp slowdown from the 2.2 per cent recorded for the fourth quarter of 2014 and the 5 per cent expansion in the third. A freezing winter and port strikes were partly to blame, while factors such as the surging dollar and deep drop in oil-related investment will have a longer-lasting effect on the economy.
今年第一季度美国经济扩张严重受挫，年化国内生产总值(GDP)增长率仅0.2%，这可能影响政策制定者关于何时加息的决定。经济学家们原本预计年化经济增长率将达到1%，实际数字仅为它的五分之一，并且大大低于2014年第四季度录得的2.2%和第三季度的5%。严寒的冬季和港口罢工是部分原因，美元飙涨、石油相关投资一落千丈等因素则将对经济产生更长远的影响。
The Department of Commerce numbers came as Federal Reserve policy makers met to debate when to raise short-term interest rates. Officials have taken a more cautious tack in recent weeks amid signs of soggier growth and weaker corporate hiring in March. The dollar fell to a near two-month low after the GDP figures were released.
美国商务部(Department of Commerce)的GDP数据出炉之际，美联储(Fed)的政策制定者开会辩论何时提高短期利率。近几周来，有迹象显示增长在放缓，3月新增非农就业人数骤减，在此情况下，官员们已经采取了更谨慎的姿态。GDP数据发布之后，美元跌至近两月来最低点。
Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, who votes on rates this year, told the Financial Times this month that he was leaning to a “later lift-off date” — pointing to September instead of June.
亚特兰大联邦储备银行(Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)行长丹尼斯•洛克哈特(Dennis Lockhart)今年对何时加息握有一票。他本月对英国《金融时报》表示，他倾向于“迟一些的开始加息日期”，暗示加息时间不会在6月，而会在9月。
Market disappointment in the US economy sent the euro soaring against the dollar, with the common currency increasing 1.75 per cent to its highest for eight weeks and rising above $1.11.
市场对美国经济的失望促使欧元兑美元汇率飙升，上涨1.75%至8周来最高点，超过了1欧元兑1.11美元。
Dollar strength has been accelerating since the start of the year and, coupled with the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme, has steadily weakened the euro, in turn helping drive European exporters.
此前美元自年初以来加速走强，加上欧洲央行(ECB)的债券购买计划，使得欧元兑美元汇率持续走低，进而帮助促进了欧洲出口。
