America's economy just recorded its fastest growth in 2 years


The U.S. economy recorded its fastest pace of expansion in two years, growing at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter, The Associated Press reports. "We're focused on growth," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox Business. "We think the 3 percent GDP is a very moderate aspiration and we can do higher than that."
The revised numbers for the economy's output of goods and services between April and June slightly exceeds the 3 percent estimate made a month ago, and shows improvement since the 1.2 percent rate in the January-March period, Fox Business reports. "Still, economists believe growth this year will not breach President Donald Trump's ambitious 3.0 percent target," The New York Times writes.
But even as "economists believe growth has slowed again to around 2 percent in the current quarter," AP writes, the economy could get a boost in early 2018 from rebuilding projects stemming from hurricane damage.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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