Gross domestic product increased at a 1.5 per cent ‌annualised rate last quarter, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP rising at a 2.1 per cent pace. Estimates ranged from a 0.8 per cent rate to a 2.9 per cent pace. Photo: Getty Images via AFPThe economy grew at a 2.1 per cent pace in the first quarter. Consumer spending, which ‌accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, surged at a 3.2 per cent rate last quarter after abruptly slowing to a 0.5 per cent growth pace in the January-March quarter.