The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. And the Federal Reserve’s favoured measure of inflation grew more slowly last month, but remained above the central bank’s 2% target. Imports rose at an 11.5% pace, partly on a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support AI investment. The imports shaved 1.5 percentage off second-quarter GDP growth. Thursday’s GDP report was the first of three Commerce Department estimates of second-quarter economic growth.