US growth revised up to 2.2% for spring as shoppers and AI spending power on
The US economy grew at a 2.2% annualised rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday, sharply up from the 1.5% previously estimated.
The US economy grew at a solid 2.2% annualised pace in the second quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Wednesday, upgrading its previous estimate of 1.5% in the third and final estimate. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the figure to be left unrevised.
Robust consumer spending drove the upgrade. Household outlays rose at a 3.8% annualised rate, revised up from 3.4%, after growing just 0.7% in the first quarter. Spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.
Business investment excluding housing climbed 9% on the back of the AI infrastructure buildout, while housing investment rose 2.8% — its first increase since the end of 2024. A measure of underlying domestic demand grew 4.6%, up from 1.8% in the January–March quarter.
Imports were the main drag: they rose 12.6% on a surge of computer chips tied to AI investment, subtracting nearly 1.7 percentage points from growth, since GDP counts only domestic production, the Associated Press reported.
The figures point to surprising resilience in the face of the US-Israeli war with Iran and the energy price spike it caused. Yet strain is visible: a Conference Board survey on Tuesday showed consumer confidence falling to a near 12-and-a-half-year low in September. The first estimate of third-quarter GDP is due on 29 October.
Sources
- Reuters — “US second-quarter GDP revised higher amid robust consumer spending”: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-second-quarter-gdp-revised-higher-amid-robust-consumer-spending-2026-09-30/
- Associated Press (via Bastille Post) — “US economy grew a solid 2.2% in the second quarter, government says”: https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/6208733-us-economy-grew-a-solid-2-2-in-the-second-quarter-government-says-upgrading-previous-estimate
- Barron’s — “Revisions Lift GDP Growth Estimates”: https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/pce-inflation-report-august-fed-rates/card/revisions-lift-gdp-growth-estimates-WSyBHrGYFoyXidsIyMbd
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