U.S. economic growth decelerated in the second quarter as a decline in net exports and in the buildup of inventories weighed substantially on growth. The economic expansion, however, was still better than expected, pushing markets to record highs on July 26.
The gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed in the second quarter to a 2.1 percent annual rate from 3.1 percent in the first quarter mostly due to a drop in exports and non-farm private inventories, according to data released on July 26 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
