PHOTO: BLOOMBERG[WASHINGTON] The US economy likely maintained a steady pace of growth in the second quarter, supported by stronger consumer spending and robust business investment in equipment tied to the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Estimates ranged from as low as a 0.8 per cent rate to as high as a 2.9 per cent pace. Trade could subtract as much as a full percentage point from GDP growth, economists estimated. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, likely accelerated after abruptly slowing to a 0.5 per cent growth pace in the first quarter. Final sales to private domestic purchasers, which exclude government, trade and inventories, increased at a 1.7 per cent pace in the first quarter.