GDP gains revised lower for second quarter

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Commerce Department Wednesday revised its estimate of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter with a sharp reduction from the previous estimate.

A month after an initial estimate of 1.5 percent growth in the gross domestic product, the department posted a revised gain of 1.7 percent. On Thursday, the department reversed itself and posted a final, third estimate pegging growth at 1.3 percent for April through June.

The final figure is precisely what economists estimated at the end of July at the time of the first published GDP report.

Economists are back to comparing the second quarter GDP growth to the first quarter, when the economy grew 2 percent over the final quarter of 2011.

The Commerce Department said production of motor vehicles added 0.2 percentage points to the GDP in the second quarter following a 0.72 percentage point contribution in the first quarter. After adding 0.2 percentage points to the first quarter's GDP, computer sales subtracted 0.1 percentage points from the final figure in the second quarter, the department said.

Consumer spending adjusted for inflation rose 1.5 percent in the second quarter after rising 2.4 percent in the first.

Real exports of goods and services rose 5.3 percent in the second quarter, after a gain of 4.4 percent in the previous quarter. Real imports, which is imports adjusted for inflation, increased 2.8 percent after rising 3.1 percent in the first quarter.

The department said corporate profits rose by $21.8 billion in the second quarter after dropping $53 billion in the first. Taxes on corporate income decreased $10.3 billion in the second quarter after rising $83.2 billion in the first.