US economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter

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The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as the Commerce Department released its second revision of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the latest quarter.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday released its third and final estimate of second-quarter GDP, which showed the economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.8% in the April through June period. 

That figure was hotter than the 3.3% estimate of economists polled by LSEG, and came in higher than the Commerce Department’s initial second-quarter GDP estimate of 3%.

BEA explained that the GDP increase in the second quarter “primarily reflected a decrease in imports, which are a substraction in the calculation of GDP, and an increase in consumer spending. These movements were partly offset by decreases in investment and exports.”

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The revision of second-quarter growth upward by 0.5 percentage points from the BEA’s second estimate primarily stemmed from higher consumer spending than previously reported.

Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, which is the sum of consumer spending and gross fixed private investment, was revised up by 1 percentage point to a gain of 2.9% in the second quarter.

The growth in the second quarter follows a GDP contraction in the first quarter that was revised downward from a contraction of 0.5% to 0.6%, which leaves GDP growth in the first half of 2025 at an annualized rate of about 1.6%. 

BEA attributed the upturn in the second quarter to a decrease in imports and an acceleration in consumer spending, which were partly offset by a decline in investment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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