Second-quarter growth unchanged at 2.5%
U.S. economy continues to grow slowly four years after end of recession
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The performance of the slowly growing U.S. economy was unchanged in the second quarter, according to the government’s third and final review.

Companies restocked warehouse shelves a bit less than previously reported and exports also grew somewhat slower — both negatives for gross domestic product. Yet state and local spending actually rose instead of falling.

Those factors combined to keep overall U.S. growth unrevised at 2.5% in the April-to-June period, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

GDP is the broadest measure of an economy’s health, reflecting the value of all the goods and services a nation produces. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected GDP growth to be revised up to 2.7%.

The report does nothing to alter the current view of the economy four years after the Great Recession ended. The U.S. has been expanding at a roughly 2% rate over the past several years and there’s little reason to expect a big growth spurt anytime soon. U.S. growth is forecast to slow to a 1.9% pace in the third quarter, according to the latest MarketWatch poll.

The main driver of the economy — consumer spending — was unchanged in the second quarter. It rose 1.8%. Yet sales of U.S.-made goods and services, which include exports, was revised up to 2.1% from 1.9%. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/second-quart...=afterbell