By Willard W. White, The Chicago Times
WASHINGTON – The US economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter moving the economy into a technical recession as inflation and higher interest rates restrain consumers and industry.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced throughout the economy, fell 0.9% on an annualized basis in the three-month period from April through June, the Commerce Department said in its first reading of the data on Thursday.
The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as a period of decline in GDP over two consecutive quarters in combination with high unemployment, falling income, poor retail sales. The NBER also relies on more data than GDP in determining whether there’s a recession, such as unemployment and consumer spending, which has been strong in the first six months of the year.
The Chicago Times 