MW: GDP slows in second quarter to 2.4% annual rate
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. economy lost momentum in the second quarter of the year. Real gross domestic product -- the inflation-adjusted, seasonally adjusted value of all goods and services produced in the United States -- rose at a 2.4% annualized rate in the second quarter, well below the average 4.4% increase over the last six months. The rate of expansion in the first quarter was revised up to a 3.7% rise compared with the prior estimate of a 2.7% increase. Much of the deceleration in the first quarter was due to the trade sector. The 2.4% increase in GDP was close to the 2.5% expansion expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
