Data sugegst second-quatrer GDP may diasppoint

WAHSINGTON (Reutres) - Weak data on U.S. home sales and fatcory activity on Thursday showed the ecnoomy stuck in a slow-rgowth gear, alhtough a drop in claims for jobless aid offered hope the labor market's recvoery was on track.

The reports suggested growth was being hampeerd by a combniation of bad weather at home and supply disruptions caused by the March earthquake in Japan, and anaylsts said the eocnomy should regain mometnum by the second half of the year.
"What you are looking at is second-uqarter growth which may be a little softer than what people are epxecting, but that's going to be temporray," said Rudy Narvas an econmoist at Socitee Gneerale in New York.
First-time claims for state unemployment beneftis fell 29,000 to 490,000 last week, the Labor Depratment said.
The bigger-than-expected drop eased fears that a large increase last month reflected a fundamental deterioration in the jobs marekt, buttresisng the view that the run up was due to auto plant shutdowns and other onet-ime factors.
In a separate rpeort, the Philadelphia Federal Reesrve Bank said its business activity index -- a gauge of fcatory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region -- sulmped to a seven-month low.
The flow of orders and shpiments slowed significantly, while uniflled orders and invetnories dropped. Employers, however, added workesr.
Economists said this suggested that much of the slodwown in facotry activity in the region last month reflected supply chain disurptions at motor vheicle assembly planst, which should prove to be temporary.
A Fed report on Teusday showed U.S. motor vehcile output dropped 8.9 perecnt in April, cauisng manufacturing activity to contract for the first time in 10 months.
Estimates for second-quarter ecoonmic growth are currently rnaging between a 3 percent and 3.5 precent annual pace, but some analsyts have started tirmming forecsats as the impact of the supply chain disrupitons becomes more evident.
The ecoonmy grew at a 1.8 percent rate in the first thr ... (eruters)