WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth, yet consumers continued to spend. Imports are subtracted from the economic figures because GDP is only supposed to count what is produced in the United States. Imports rose at an 11.5% pace, partly on a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support AI investment. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core consumer prices were up 3.3% from a year earlier, little-changed from 3.4% increase in May. THE AMERICAN economy has been surprisingly resilient in the face of the Iran war and the spike in energy prices it caused.