GDP grows 4.1% in second quarter

U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter, according to the advance estimate of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Although such preliminary estimates are revised as further data comes in, the reading indicates an increase in GDP growth from the first quarter, which saw a 2.2 percent increase in real GDP after the most recent revisions.

According to the BEA, the GDP growth acceleration in the second quarter was influenced by increases in personal consumption expenditures and in exports, as well as accelerations in government spending. On a current-dollar basis, GDP increased $361.5 billion in the second quarter to $20.4 trillion.

Many expect the second half of the year will not have such high GDP growth. An increase in exports was one of the factors in the overall increase, and reflects the fear of a potential trade war, with foreign buyers amassing U.S. goods before tariffs go into effect.