A report from the Commerce Department showed on Thursday that the U.S. economy expanded slightly more than initially estimated in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment and exports, which were partly offset by downward revisions to private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending. Meanwhile, imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised down.

According to the second estimate, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 6.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, slightly better than a 6.5 percent advance reported in initial estimate. 

Economists had expected the growth rate to be revised to 6.7 percent, following the previous quarter's advance of 6.3 percent.

The increase in real GDP in the second quarter reflected gains in personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by declines in private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and federal government spending. At the same time, imports rose.