In its advance estimate of growth, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the second quarter, compared to a revised rate of only 1.2 percent in the first quarter.

The second-quarter increase “reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and state and local government spending,” the department reported.

The growth rate still came up short of the 2.8-percent gain predicted by Wall Street analysts and the sustained 3-percent minimum expansion promised by President Donald Trump.

“In recent years, the U.S. economy has often started off slowly, improved in the middle of the year, only to sag again toward the end,” Politico said, citing the 3.5-percent jump in the third quarter of 2016. “One strong quarter for Trump does not mean he is on track to deliver on his promise of sustained annual growth of more than 3 percent,” it added.

Read Full Article