U.S. Economy Grows at 3.3% Pace in 2Q
he U.S. economy grew at a 3.3% annual pace in the second quarter, which was slightly faster than it previously estimated, amid a quicker pace of inventory building, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The final report on gross domestic product, the total of goods and services produced, exceeded the 2.8% estimate issued on Aug. 27. Commerce revises GDP over the course of three months as more data become available.
The U.S. economy grew at a 4.5% rate in the first quarter. The third quarter comes to a close on Thursday.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the economy, grew at an unrevised 1.6% annual rate in the second quarter, compared with a 4.1% rate in the first quarter. The second-quarter rate was the slowest since 1% in the second quarter of 2001, when the U.S. was in a recession.
Government spending, which accounts for the second-largest share of GDP, increased 2.2% at an annual pace in the second quarter.
Business fixed investment, which includes spending on commercial construction, grew at a 12.5% annual rate in the second quarter, compared with the 12.1% rate previously reported and a 4.2% pace in the first quarter.
The GDP price deflator rose at a 3.2% annual rate, compared with a 2.7% rise in the first quarter. The second-quarter deflator is the highest since 3.3% in the first quarter of 2001.
The core personal consumer expenditures price index, a measure of inflation watched by Fed policy makers, increased at a 1.7% rate, compared with a 2.1% pace in the first three months of the year.
Adjusted for inflation, GDP totaled $10.8 trillion in the second quarter when measured at an annual rate. Unadjusted, GDP rose at 6.6% annual rate, and totaled $11.7 trillion.
