WASHINGTON - US economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, but an acceleration in inflation suggested that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates before September.

Gross domestic product increased at a 1.6 percent annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of first-quarter GDP on Thursday. Growth was largely supported by consumer spending.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP rising at a 2.4 percent rate, with estimates ranging from a 1.0 percent pace to a 3.1 percent rate. The economy grew at a 3.4 percent rate in the fourth quarter. It is expanding at a pace above what US central bank officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate of 1.8 percent.

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The International Monetary Fund last week upgraded its forecast for 2024 US growth to 2.7 percent from the 2.1 percent projected in January, citing stronger-than-expected employment and consumer spending. Job gains in the first quarter averaged 276,000 per month versus the October-December quarter's average of 212,000.