US GDP fell at a 0.9% annual rate in the second quarter

The U.S. economy shrank for a second straight quarter — a common definition of recession — as businesses trimmed inventories, the housing market buckled under rising interest rates and high inflation sapped spending.

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced throughout the economy, fell at an inflation- and seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 0.9% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That marked a deterioration from the 1.6% decline recorded in the first three months of 2022.