US 2nd quarter growth revised higher to 2.5%

WASHINGTON, USA – The US economy grew at an annual pace of 2.5 percent in the second quarter, faster than the original estimate of 1.7 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday, August 29.

Stronger consumer spending and exports underpinned the pickup from the first quarter’s sluggish 1.1 percent pace, while imports grew more slowly than originally estimated, the department said.

The department also said that the impact of government spending cuts in the second quarter was less than initially estimated.

Inflation pressures were subdued in the April-June quarter, the department said, as it maintained its 0.3 percent estimate for the rise in its price index from the first quarter.

Excluding food and energy costs, the second-quarter price index gained 0.9 percent, slower than the first quarter’s 1.4 percent gain.

The upward revision to the growth estimate was expected, but came in stronger than most economists had anticipated, and underpinned the view that the US economy had firmer momentum than the first quarter suggested. – Rappler.com