KEY POINTS
  • Gross domestic product fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate.
  • That follows a 1.6% decline in the first quarter and was worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 0.3%.
  • The drop came from a broad swath of factors, including decreases in inventories, residential and nonresidential investment, and government spending

The U.S. economy contracted for the second straight quarter from April to June, hitting a widely accepted rule of thumb for a recession, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.

Gross domestic product fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate. That follows a 1.6% decline in the first quarter and was worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 0.3%.