US economy expands 6.7% in Q2, final reading shows

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (A) - The US economy expanded 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department's third and final reading released Thursday.

The figure was just above market expectation of 6.6%, while the second estimate in real GDP was a 6.6% increase.

Real GDP increased 6.3% in the first quarter.

The world's largest economy contracted 31.4% in the second quarter of 2020, recovered 33.4% in the third quarter but shrunk 3.5% overall in 2020, marking its worst annual drop since 1946, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

GDP, based on the current dollar, increased $702.8 billion in the April - June period to $22.74 trillion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a statement. It rose $560.6 billion in the first quarter.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the final reading. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index rose 6.1%, data showed.