{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"The US economy grew at an annualised rate of just 1.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, marking a slowdown from the previous period even as American consumers continued to splash out."}],[{"start":22.44,"text":"Thursday’s figure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was down from the 2.1 per cent growth rate in the first three months of the year and fell short of the 2 per cent figure forecast in a Bloomberg poll of economists."}],[{"start":35.64,"text":"Growth was dragged down by lower government spending and slower growth in exports and business investment, the BEA said. But consumer spending rose sharply, suggesting the economy is in robust shape despite the fallout from President Donald Trump’s war with Iran."}],[{"start":51.64,"text":"“The second-quarter GDP figure seriously undersells a healthy economy,” said Bradley Saunders at Capital Economics. “The slowdown . . . will not sway the Fed’s view that the economy is ‘expanding at a solid pace’.”"}],[{"start":65.08,"text":"The five month-long war in the Middle East has reverberated across the global economy, fuelling inflation as disruption to energy infrastructure pushes up prices at the pump."}],[{"start":75.68,"text":"The BEA report came a day after markets were spooked by the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady, spurring concerns that the central bank would not be able to contain the war’s inflationary shock."}],[{"start":87.16,"text":"But despite the rising prices, the data showed US consumers continued to spend during the period, boosted by hefty tax refunds."}],[{"start":95.48,"text":"Personal consumption expenditures rose at a rate of 2.1 per cent during the quarter, up from 0.4 per cent previously."}],[{"start":103.32,"text":"Treasury yields and the dollar fell slightly following the report, but the market reaction to the data was relatively muted."}],[{"start":110,"text":"Ajay Rajadhyaksha, global chair of research at Barclays, said markets had “completely shrugged . . . off” the lower GDP figure. “My overriding impression is that this is an economy that is doing just fine,” he said."}],[{"start":123.04,"text":"Chunky outlays by tech companies building AI infrastructure that had helped to drive growth earlier in the year slowed slightly, with the rate of private investment growth falling from 1.4 per cent to 0.5 per cent."}],[{"start":135.24,"text":"But final sales to private domestic purchasers, a measure of combined spending by households and businesses closely watched by the Fed, grew at a 3.9 per cent rate, up from 1.7 per cent previously."}],[{"start":148.08,"text":"Exports slowed as a drop-off in travel spending acted as a drag on the continued increase in oil shipments, which have been boosted by the war."}],[{"start":156.16,"text":"Government spending, meanwhile, fell outright as Washington sold down stocks from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve."}],[{"start":162.2,"text":"Oliver Allen, at Pantheon Macroeconomics, warned that while growth remained “solid” for now, it was “unlikely to be sustained” as consumer spending slowed in the months ahead."}],[{"start":172.76,"text":"“The boost from tax refunds is fading fast, underlying income growth is very weak, higher gas prices still are putting pressure on spending elsewhere, and the personal saving rate . . . already is well below its long-run average,” he said."}],[{"start":192,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785453483_3047.mp3"}