US GDP grows 1.2% in second quarter, well below expectations

US gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the preliminary estimate released today by the Commerce Department.     

This reading was well below expectations of a 2.6% advance and marks only a slightly faster pace than in the first quarter, when GDP advanced at a downwardly revised 0.8% pace.     

The price index for personal consumption expenditures rose 1.9% from the prior quarter. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, climbed 1.7%.