Final GDP Reading for 2Q Revised Upward to a 0.7% Decline

The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the second quarter, better than the 1% decline previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

The decline in the gross domestic product was better than economists’ forecasts of a 1.2% downturn, Bloomberg reported.

Two previous estimates had each estimated the second-quarter decline at 1%.

GDP shrank 6.4% in the first quarter, which was the fourth consecutive quarter of contraction and the longest down streak on record, Bloomberg reported.

The reading could signal that an economic recovery would take hold in the second half of this year, Bloomberg said.