WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a solid 2.2 per cent pace from April through June as consumer spending and business investment came in strong. Growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.5 per cent pace from January through March, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The second-quarter growth number was an improvement on the department’s previous estimate of 1.5 per cent. Consumer spending — which accounts for about 70 per cent of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.8 per cent annual pace, up from 0.7 per cent in the January-March period. The overall growth number was dragged down by imports. They are subtracted from growth because GDP is only supposed to count domestic production. Imports rose at a 12.6 per cent annual pace from April through June, partly due to a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support artificial intelligence investment, and slashed nearly 1.7 percentage points off second-quarter growth. The U.S. economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of fighting with Iran and the energy price spike it caused. Business investment, excluding housing, rose at a nine per cent clip in the second quarter, reflecting the AI investment boom. And a measure of the economy’s underlying strength — which strips out volatile government spending and trade numbers — grew at a strong 4.6 per cent rate, up from 1.8 per cent in the first quarter. Investment in housing rose 2.8 per cent ticking up for the first time since the end of 2024. The housing market has been depressed by high mortgage rates. Wednesday’s report was the last of three Commerce Department estimates of second-quarter GDP growth. The first look at third-quarter growth is due Oct. 29. Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press
