GDP rose by 1.5% in 2Q, lower than predicted - UPI.com

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the NYSE Options Market on Wall Street on Wednesday. The GDP only rose 1.5% in the second quarter, well below expectations. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter of this year, as the gross domestic product only rose by 1.5%, according to the advance estimate released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The first quarter GDP rose by 2.1%.

The 1.5% growth is well below the rate economists at data firm FactSet predicted, which was 2.1%, CNN reported. GDP is adjusted for seasonal changes and inflation.

The trade deficit bloomed 42.2% to a seasonally adjusted $77.6 billion in May, BEA data showed. That number was the highest in nearly a year, owing to imports of computer parts for the artificial intelligence revolution as companies build data centers. The trade deficit shrunk slightly in June.