What's Next for U.S. GDP After Best Quarter of Growth Since 2014

The U.S. economy’s 4.1 percent rate of growth in the second quarter, the fastest since 2014, owed plenty to exports along with gains in consumer and business demand. Sustaining such a lofty pace will be tough as the boost from tax cuts fades, although some drags -- such as a drop in inventories -- may turn into a positive.

Economists’ forecasts show growth will come in around 3 percent this year. That indicates a somewhat more moderate pace than the April-June results, though better than the 2.3 percent average growth in the expansion that began in 2009. Here’s a deeper dive into how the components of gross domestic product performed last quarter, and how they may fare from here on.