GDP Grew 1.9% in the Second Quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.9% annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Commerce’s latest GDP report also indicated that the U.S. economy shrank 0.2% in the final quarter of 2007, a downward revision from an initially reported gain of 0.6%.

The latest increase in the gross domestic product was lower than economists’ projections of a 2.3% gain, Bloomberg News reported.

The second-quarter GDP increase was mostly due to federal tax rebates, which partially offset the negative influence of the slumping housing market and rising unemployment, Bloomberg said.

The second-quarter gain followed an annualized increase of 0.9% in the first quarter, Commerce said.