MW:U.S. GDP up 1.3% in second quarter from weak Q1
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.3% annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said, after a downwardly revised 0.4% gain in the January-March quarter. Economists had forecast GDP growing at a 1.6% rate in the second quarter from a previously estimated 1.9% rate in the first quarter. This was the weakest six months period since the recovery began in the second quarter of 2009. Growth in the second quarter was held down by weak consumer spending, which only expanded at a 0.1% rate. State and local government spending was also weak in the quarter. Inflation, as measured by the core personal consumption expenditure index, rose 2.1% in the second quarter, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2009.
