Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Aug. 26

03:00 PM EDT, 08/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The second estimate of Q2 GDP showed a 1.5% gain, unrevised from the advance estimate and following a 2.1% gain in the previous quarter. Personal spending was revised up to a 3.4% gain from 3.2% in the advance estimate and was well above a 0.5% gain in the previous quarter. There was also an upward adjustment to nonresidential fixed investment but downward adjustments to inventories, net exports and government spending. The contribution from residential fixed investment was unchanged. The GDP price index rose by 6.4% after a 3.6% gain in the previous quarter, an upward revision from a 6.2% increase in the advance estimate. The PCE price index and core PCE price measures were also revised higher from the advance estimate. Personal income was rose by 0.4% in July after a 0.2% gain in June, while personal consumption expenditures rose by 0.2% in July after a 0.3% increase in June. Real PCE was flat in July after adjusting for a 0.2% increase in the PCE price index, down from a 0.4% gain in June when the price index fell by 0.1%. Core PCE prices rose by 0.2% after a 0.1% gain in June. The year-over-year rates for both the overall and core price measures held steady at 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Durable goods new orders rose by 1.1% in July, while shipments increased by 1.1%. Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.4%, and shipments rose by 0.8%, suggesting underlying growth outside of the volatile transportation component. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 1% decline in mortgage applications in the week ended Aug. 21 after a 0.4% dip in the previous week. Refinancing activity and new home applications both declined due to a slight uptick in mortgage rates. Total crude oil inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 21, with commercial oil inventories up 100,000 barrels and stocks in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve down 3.7 million barrels. Gasoline inventories and distillate inventories both decreased last week. The Q3 GDP nowcast estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 4.6% gain, up from the previous estimate of a 4.0% gain.