The U.S. economy grew by 3.1% to start the year, slightly better than expected and providing some relief at a time when recession fears are accelerating, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

First-quarter gross domestic product beat the 3% Dow Jones estimate but was lower than the initial 3.2% projection from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The decrease came due to downward revisions to nonresidential fixed and private inventory investment, two key drivers to GDP.

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The new numbers, which represent the second reading, also reflect upward revisions to exports and personal consumption expenditures. Corporate profits also weakened, falling 2.8% across all companies and 0.5% in the S&P 500.

Inflation indicators also were weaker than expected, with core personal consumption expenditures up just 1.03%.

Exports rose 4.8% amid the increasingly bitter trade war between the U.S. and China, while imports, which are a subtraction from GDP, declined 2.5%. The level of net exports contributed nearly 1 percentage point to the GDP gain.