U.S. first quarter GDP numbers are due out at 12:30 GMT. Even though the United States has been posting decent growth, economists and the stock markets will be eyeing the financial impact of that record-breaking government shutdown earlier this year. Our Owen Fairclough is in Washington D.C. with more.

OWEN FAIRCLOUGH WASHINGTON D.C. "Except for the tourists, it's pretty quiet up here on Capitol Hill. But that's only because the U.S. Congress is in recess. But back in January, it was quiet for a very different reason: the longest government shutdown in U.S. history."

And we'll find out how much it cost the U.S. economy when economic growth figures for the first quarter of the year are released. The shutdown triggered by a funding dispute for President Trump's border wall began in December and ended at the end of January. The U.S. government's budget office estimated the shutdown period in December would equate to eight billion dollars in lost economic activity, while in January, it would be 11 billion. Overall about one-tenth of one percent shaved off GDP. 

There are fears a trade battle with China would also harm the U.S. economy, though Wall Street doesn't seem to be afraid anymore. The S&P and Nasdaq exchanges hit record highs this week.

OWEN FAIRCLOUGH WASHINGTON DC "But if President Trump thinks the U.S. economy is doing well, it hasn't come close to hitting his presidential campaign target of four percent growth a year. And where the White House thinks the U.S. economy could grow 3.2 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund thinks it'll be nearly a whole percentage point less."