The U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annual rate from April through June, down from 2.1% in the first quarter. Consumer spending accelerated, but a surge in imports connected partly to AI investment reduced the headline growth measure. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5% annual pace in the second quarter, below economists’ expectations.
Consumer spending, about 70% of economic activity, grew at a 3.2% annual pace after increasing 0.5% in the first quarter. A measure excluding volatile trade and government spending expanded at a 3.9% annual rate. The Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged for a fifth meeting while three regional bank presidents dissented in favor of a rate increase.
Business investment outside housing grew at an 8.4% pace, supported by artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. Imports rose 11.5% and subtracted 1.5 percentage points from GDP because imported goods are excluded from domestic production. Employers added an average of about 92,000 jobs a month this year after a much weaker 2025.
The PCE price index was 3.7% above a year earlier and core prices were 3.3% higher, both still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Shipments of semiconductors and other equipment for AI construction contributed to the import increase.
The evidentiary boundary at publication is specific: The GDP estimate will be revised, quarterly annualized rates can be volatile and the aggregate figures do not describe outcomes for every household or industry. The current account therefore distinguishes completed events from announced, proposed or still-contested steps. Statements by governments, companies, litigants and advocacy organizations establish what those parties said; they are not treated as independent proof of every underlying assertion. Numerical values describe the source period and category identified in the reporting and may be revised by the responsible institution.
The next public records expected to update this account are the next GDP revision and monthly jobs report and inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s response to persistent price pressure. Until those records appear, the dates, totals, procedural posture and attributed descriptions above are the latest checked account for the July 31 edition. A later filing, official release, verified field report or corrected dataset could change a total or timetable without erasing the documented sequence at this cutoff.