US GDP shrank dramatically in the first quarter of 2009, preliminary data shows - a far sharper contraction than had been anticipated, the FT reported.

Gross domestic product dropped at an annualised 6.1 percent annual, after shrinking by 6.3 percent rate in the last quarter of 2008, the Commerce Department said.

US GDP has not experienced negative growth for three straight quarters since 1975.
Meanwhile the German economy is forecast to return to growth in 2010 after a huge contraction in 2009, the government said.

The government forecasts growth of 0.5 percent in 2010, the Economy Ministry said. The economy will contract this year by 6 percent, the worst forecast of the major European economies.

"We see a good chance of stabilisation or even a slight recovery of the world economy during the course of next year at the latest," Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said.
"A global economic revival will be helpful particularly for us, just as the decline hit us particularly hard."