US growth slowed to 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026, but private domestic demand rose 3.9 percent

The advance estimate from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.5 percent between April and June 2026, below the 2.1 percent recorded in the first quarter. Part of the slowdown came from higher imports, which subtracted about one percentage point from growth, while a drawdown in inventories took a further 0.67 percentage points off the figure.

The detail of the report points to stronger underlying domestic demand. Household consumption, which accounts for about two thirds of US economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 3.2 percent, and non residential fixed investment grew 8.4 percent. Final sales to private domestic purchasers, a measure that strips out foreign trade, inventory swings and government spending, rose 3.9 percent, more than double the first quarter pace and the strongest reading since early 2023. Separate data showed real consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in June.

On inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index fell 0.1 percent in June and the core index rose by less than economists had forecast. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its most recent meeting, although several officials favoured a rise on concern that price pressures are persisting. The path of US interest rates and the dollar index is among the variables shaping the world gold price, and through it Tehran's gold and currency market.