U.S. economy grew at a 3% rate in Q2, a better-than-expected pace even as Trump’s tariffs hit

• The U.S. economy grew at a much stronger-than-expected pace in the second quarter, powered by a turnaround in the trade balance and renewed consumer strength, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
• Gross domestic product, a sum of goods and services activity across the sprawling U.S. economy, jumped 3.0% for the April through June period, according to figures adjusted for seasonality and inflation.
• That topped the Dow Jones estimate for 2.3% and helped reverse a decline of 0.5% for the first quarter that came largely due to a huge drop in imports, which subtract from the total, as well as weak consumer spending amid tariff concerns.
• “Consumer spending rose 1.4% in the second quarter, better than the 0.5% in the prior period. While exports declined 1.8% during the period, imports fell 30.3%, reversing a 37.9% surge in Q1. The GDP tally showed strength across key areas of the economy, as well as evidence that inflation is ebbing though not eradicated.
• The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s key inflation metric, showed a gain of 2.1% for the quarter, just above the central bank’s 2% target. Core PCE inflation, which the Fed considers a better gauge for longer-run trends as it excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.5%. The respective numbers for the first quarter were 3.7% and 3.5%.

(Source: CNBC)