U.S. GDP Grew 4% In The Second Quarter 2014

After an abysmal first quarter, the U.S. economy picked up steam in the second quarter with GDP coming in much stronger than expected.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its advance estimate of real gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2014 — covering April, May and June of this year. The release showed output in the U.S. increasing at an annual rate of 4%. This is relative to the first quarter when real GDP declined 2.1% (an improvement from a previous estimate which showed a 2.9% decline).