The US economy rebounded sharply in the second quarter

Tariff-driven buying frenzies at the beginning of the year have made it difficult to asses the underlying health and direction of the world’s largest economy.
By Bryan Mena, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The US economy expanded sharply in the second quarter as businesses dialed back on imports after stocking up earlier in the year to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Gross domestic product, which captures all the goods and services produced in the economy, registered an annualized rate of 3% in the April-through-June period, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That’s up sharply from the -0.5% rate in the first quarter, which was the first quarterly GDP decline since 2022. Economists polled by data firm FactSet estimated second-quarter GDP to come in at a 2% rate.
The latest GDP report is a key part of an avalanche of economic news this week expected to show how consumers and businesses are weathering Trump’s sweeping economic policies. But the tariff-driven buying frenzies in the beginning of the year have made it difficult to asses the underlying health and direction of the world’s largest economy.
In the first quarter, surging imports took a toll on economic growth, but that trend reversed in the second quarter as businesses drew from their existing inventories instead of importing, in turn boosting GDP.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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