WASHINGTON (AP)—Like an underachieving student, the U.S. economy isn’t living up to the high hopes it began the year with.
Consumers have been uncharacteristically frugal, even as the country added jobs and a sharp drop in gas prices over the past year left them more money to spend. Meanwhile, drilling companies reeling from cheaper oil have slashed spending much more rapidly than anyone expected.
A host of other, mostly temporary, factors have also weighed on growth. Harsh winter weather kept shoppers at home, and a labor dispute at West Coast ports slowed exports.
Yet hope is still alive for the second half of the year amid signs that the economy could regain lost momentum.
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