GDP Nearly Doubles but Lower Than Expected

Washington, DC, July 31, 2008--The U.S. economy grew this spring at nearly twice its recent rate, due to higher exports, falling imports, and rising spending from the federal stimulus package.

Gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent annual rate April through June, the Commerce Department said. The increase came below in below Wall Street expectations of a 2.4 percent increase.

Inventories also fell sharply, putting a big drag on GDP.

Price inflation gauges were mixed in the second quarter. The key price index for personal consumption expenditures rose by 4.2 percent after increasing 3.6 percent in the first quarter.

GDP growth in the first quarter was revised down to a 0.9 percent rate of increase, compared to a previously reported 1.0% rate of increase.