WASHINGTON — Consumer spending rose by a solid 0.4% in June, while a key gauge of inflation increased at an annual pace of 2.2% for a second straight month — the strongest back-to-back gains in six years.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1%. That’s the fastest pace since 2014, driven by consumers who began spending their tax cuts and exporters who rushed to get their products delivered ahead of retaliatory tariffs.

High-level talks for a new NAFTA are picking up again this week following two months of limited negotiations that were marred by tit-for-tat tariff battles and diplomatic fallout.

President Donald Trump lit into critics of his tariffs, saying discord — some from Republicans in Congress — undercuts his ability to narrow the U.S. trade gaps with other countries.

The U.S. Treasury Department has gone from economic diplomats to trade warriors, a shift that leaves Secretary Steven Mnuchin once again exposed to broadsides from global counterparts as tensions grow ahead of a multilateral summit.

President Donald Trump lashed out at China and the European Union for their weak currencies and said a stronger dollar and rising interest rates are undermining America’s “competitive edge,” taking a fresh jab at the Federal Reserve. Stocks and the dollar fell.

There is a fair chance that North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations can wrap up by the end of the year, Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S., Geronimo Gutierrez, said July 17.

U.S. retail sales rose for a fifth month in June, and figures from May were revised upward amid gains at auto dealers and nonstore vendors, capping a quarter that probably saw consumer spending pick up after a tepid start to the year.

U.S. hiring topped forecasts in June while unemployment rose from an 18-year low and wage gains unexpectedly slowed, indicating the labor market has room to keep expanding.