Figures released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday have shown that real gross domestic product declined at a rate of 32.9% in the second quarter of 2020, the worst economic contraction in US history.

Analysis of Q1 revealed a 5% fall in GDP from January through to March as the COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in America. Prior to the new figures, GDP in the US has never fallen by more than 10% on an annualised basis since records began shortly after the Second World War.

Stocks were shaken by the report, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling by 1.5%, 1% and 0.56% respectively. International markets fared more poorly; the FTSE 100, DAX and CAC fell by 2.6%, 3.2% and 1.9%.

However, the reported economic contraction was not quite as precipitous as analysts predicted. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones reportedly expected to see GDP fall by 34.7%, and those polled by MarketWatch predicted a drop as great as 35%.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, remarked that the latest report “just highlights how deep and dark the hole is that the economy cratered into in Q2”.

“It’s a very deep and dark hole and we’re coming out of it, but it’s going to take a long time to get out,” he said.

Real GDP is the broadest measure of a country’s economic activity, with downturns reflecting significant disruption in spending. In the US’s case, the numbers reflect the closure of restaurants, retailers and other non-essential services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to spread throughout the country.