As expected, the US economy lost momentum in the spring. In the second quarter, the world’s largest economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.0 percent, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. It is the third estimate. The result of a second survey was confirmed. Growth in the first quarter was still annualized at 3.1 percent.
In the US, growth figures are extrapolated to the year. They indicate how much the economy would grow if the pace of growth continued for a year. In Europe, this method is abandoned, which is why growth figures from the two major economic areas are not directly comparable.
