| | | The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers increased their spending, businesses invested more in equipment and stocked inventories, and inflation cooled.
Gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S., adjusted for inflation and seasonality—rose at an annual rate of 2.8% for April through June, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was more than the 1.4% rate during the first quarter, and well above the 2.1% rate economists had expected before the report. Household spending, the main driver of the U.S. economy, increased at a 2.3% rate in the second quarter, picking up from 1.5% in the first. Spending on goods increased while services spending moderated slightly.
The report suggested the U.S. economy remains on a solid footing. Thursday’s report is one of the last major readings of the economy’s temperature that Federal Reserve officials will see before their policy meeting next week, July 30-31. They are widely expected to hold interest rates steady at their coming meeting.
“The sharper-than-expected pick-up in second-quarter GDP growth to 2.8% annualized should make the Fed a bit more comfortable about keeping policy unchanged next week, but the recent loosening of labor market conditions and signs of slower price growth still mean that there is a strong case for a cut at the following meeting in September,” Stephen Brown, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.
They won't believe this, and wish for our economy to crumble so that their Orangeman can win. |
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