U.S. Economy Growth Slows to 1.5% in Q2, Despite Strong Consumer Spending

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U.S. Economy Growth Slows to 1.5% in Q2, Despite Strong Consumer Spending
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  1. The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June. But consumer spending stayed strong.

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    Washington Times Business

    The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June. But consumer spending stayed strong.

    MarketWatch

    Consumer spending soared in the second quarter. A repeat is unlikely. Don’t pay much attention to a seemingly soft 1.5% annual rate of growth for the U.S. economy in the spring. The economy did all right — and it’s still growing at a stable pace.

    Epoch Times Business

    The U.S. economy registered modest growth in the second quarter on stronger-than-expected consumer spending and business investment, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s second estimate released on Aug. 26.

  2. Growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.1% pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The second-quarter growth number was unchanged from the department’s first estimate.

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    Washington Times Business

    The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.1% pace from January through March. The second-quarter growth number was unchanged from the department’s first estimate.

  3. The reason for the lackluster growth number was imports. They are subtracted from growth because GDP is only supposed to count domestic U.S. production. Imports rose at a 12.5% annual pace from April through June, partly due to a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support artificial intelligence investment, and sliced 1.64 percentage points off second-quarter growth.

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    Fortune

    The reason for the lackluster growth was imports. They are subtracted from growth because GDP is only supposed to count domestic production. Imports rose at a 12.5% annual pace from April through June, partly due to a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support artificial intelligence investment, and sliced 1.64 percentage points off second-quarter growth.

  4. Beyond the headline figures, the U.S. economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of fighting with Iran and the spike in energy prices it caused. Business investment, excluding housing, rose at a 8.5% pace in the second quarter, reflecting the AI investment boom. And a measure of the economy’s underlying strength — which strips out volatile government spending and trade numbers — grew at a strong 4.2% rate, up from 1.7% in the first quarter.

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    Washington Times Business

    But business investment was up, reflecting the AI boom. The U.S. economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of fighting with Iran and the spike in energy prices it caused.

From the margins

5 details only one outlet reported

Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.

  1. 01 ZeroHedge

    While far less relevant than the rest of today's data barrage, including the core PCE report and Durable Goods data which showed a mixed real-time picture of the economy as core prices rose more than expected while core CapEx missed expectations, the BEA also reported its second revision of Q2 GDP data - yes, for the quarter ended June 30 or almost two months ago - and which came in at 1.5%, right on top of expectations, and unchanged from the previous estimate.

  2. 02 Fortune

    Still, consumer spending — which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.4% annual clip, up from 0.5% in the January-March period.

  3. 03 Washington Times Business

    Still, consumer spending — which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.4% annual clip, up from 0.5% in the January-March period.

  4. 04 MarketWatch

    Economic Report The U.S. economy is better than it looks — but it might be due for a slowdown

  5. 05 Epoch Times Business

    This was fueled by consumer spending, exports, and business investment, which helped offset the 1 percent decline in government spending.

Assembled from 4 corroborated claims drawn from 5 independent outlets. Every passage above is taken verbatim — Dorothy doesn't paraphrase or summarize.

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Sources (5)

  • epochtimes-biz
  • marketwatch
  • zerohedge
  • fortune
  • washtimes-biz

Original Articles (6)

Lean Right Q2 GDP Grew At Modest 1.5% According To Latest Revision, As Expected — ZeroHedge
Lean Left U.S. economy grows at sluggish 1.5% pace in second quarter — Fortune
Center The U.S. economy is better than it looks — but it might be due for a slowdown — MarketWatch
Center Consumer spending posts smallest increase in 7 months. Is the economy getting weaker? — MarketWatch
Lean Right U.S. economy expands at sluggish 1.5% pace in second quarter, but consumer spending stayed strong — Washington Times Business
Lean Right US GDP Expands 1.5 Percent in 2nd Quarter on Stronger Consumer Spending, Business Investment — Epoch Times Business