Second-Quarter GDP Rises 1.7%

The U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 1.7% annual rate in the second quarter, up from 1.1% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The reading topped economists’ median forecast of a 1% increase, Bloomberg News reported. GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced.

The 1.1% first-quarter GDP rate was revised down from an originally reported 1.8%.

Consumer spending, which makes up about 70% of the economy, rose at a 1.8% rate, higher than the 1.6% forecast, Bloomberg said.

Wednesday’s GDP report is the first of three to be issued by Commerce, which will revise it in August and September as more information becomes available.