US economy went up 4.6% in Q2, most since 2011

摘要

The US economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest rate since the last three months of 2011 as companies stepped up investment and households boosted spending. Gross domestic product grew at a revised 4.6% annualized rate, up from a previous estimate of 4.2%, commerce department data showed recently in Washington. The increase matched the median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 2.1% decline in the first three months of the year. Busier assembly lines at the nation's factories and job growth that's kept Americans spending indicate companies are a bit more upbeat about the prospects for demand. As the world's largest economy and labor market improve, Federal Reserve policy makers are debating how much longer to keep interest rates near zero. "After a very aberrant first quarter, growth is looking stronger for the balance of the year," Dana Saporta, U.S. economist at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, said before the report. While the second quarter probably overstates the underlying trend in growth, "we're not looking for a dramatic slowdown for the rest of the year - something dose to 3% growth for the second half looks likely". Forecasts for second-quarter GDP, the value of all goods and services produced in the US, ranged from gains of 3.4% to 5% , according to the Bloomberg survey. The estimate is the third and final for the quarter. The revision reflected bigger gains in corporate spending on equipment and properties. Investment in nonresidential structures added 0.35 percentage point to second-quarter growth, the most since the first three months of 2012. Business investment increased at a 9.7% annualized rate, up from a previously estimated 8.4% pace. Corporate spending on equipment was revised to an 11.2% rate from an earlier reading of a 10.7% increase, while outlays for structures climbed at a 12.6% pace in the second quarter. A separate report showed demand for business equipment climbed more than forecast in August, indicating corporate investment will continue to boost economic growth. Orders for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft climbed 0.6 percent following a 0.2% decrease in July that was smaller than previously estimated, according to the Commerce Department's report.