GDP for second quarter firms at 2.5%

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013, the Commerce Department said Thursday, confirming a previous estimate. In a revised estimate, the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said corporate profits in the second quarter rose by $66.8 billion, not by $78.3 billion as estimated in a report released in late August. With new data available, however, the GDP estimate firmed, posting an improvement over the annual rate of the economy's quarter-to-quarter growth in the first quarter, which was 1.1 percent. For the third estimate of the second quarter, there were offsetting revisions that moved the second estimate up and down, then ended up where it started. Specifically, private inventory investment and export estimates were lowered while spending by state and local government's was revised higher. Personal spending rose 1.8 percent in the second quarter after rising 2.3 percent in the first. Spending on durable goods was up 6.2 percent after a 5.8 percent increase in the first quarter. Spending on non-durable goods, which outweighs durable goods purchases, rose 1.6 percent compared to 2.7 percent in the first quarter. Spending on services was more consistent, rising 1.2 percent after rising 1.5 percent in the first quarter.