The United States economy grew at a 1.7-per- cent annualized rate in the second quarter of this year, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in a slightly revised final estimate that is unlikely to ease concerns over the country’s weak recovery.
The department had originally reported growth of 1.6 per cent for the April-June period in a preliminary estimate last month.
The revised figure still reflects a major slowdown for the world’s largest economy, after the US reported growth of 3.7 per cent in the first three months of this year.
The sluggish growth estimate, which was largely blamed on a surge in imports in the second quarter, has sparked fears among economists that the United States could be headed into a second, or “double- dip,” recession later this year or in 2011.
The US pulled out of its deepest recession in generations in June 2009, but politicians have faced pressure to take tougher actions as unemployment remains near 10 per cent.
