The U.S. economy grew solidly at a 3.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the government reported on Friday, just slightly below the first quarter’s pace as stocks of unsold goods fell for the first time in two years.
While second-quarter growth eased from a 3.8 percent rate in the first three months of the year, it nonetheless marked the ninth straight quarter in which gross domestic product increased at a rate exceeding 3 percent, Commerce Department figures showed.
