U.S. economic growth in the second quarter was 3% year-on-year, which exceeded Wall Street expectations. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the third estimate of GDP for the second quarter did not change compared to the previous one, which also recorded an increase of 3%. Economists had forecast a slightly more modest result of 2.9%. In the first quarter, US economic growth was 1.4%. Although the current data relate to the second quarter that has already ended (until June), forecasts indicate continued steady growth in the third quarter, which will end in September. According to the estimates of the Atlanta Fed's GDP tracker, US economic growth in the third quarter is expected to reach 2.9%. Another report noted that orders for durable goods remained unchanged, despite a projected decline of 2.6%. Initial applications for unemployment benefits last week amounted to 218 thousand, which also turned out to be better than expected (225 thousand), although the data for the previous week were revised upwards to 222 thousand. The dollar reacted weakly to the positive data, reducing intraday losses. Before the release of the reports, the USD index declined by 0.8%, but then returned to the opening levels and stopped just below the 101.00 mark.
