The BEA released the official GDP report for Q2 2009. GDP was down an annualized 1.0%, and there was a small downward revision to Q1 2009 (from -6.1% to -6.4%). This was in the middle of the Bloomberg consensus range (-2.8% to 0.7%, listing the expected change at -0.7%). Other sources (read: CNBC) reported expectations of -1.5%, so this is slightly better or slightly worse than expected depending on who you were listening to. Take into account that this is the preliminary report, and subject to revision. There is some reason to expect an upward revision. From the report:

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — decreased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2009, (that is, from the first quarter to the second), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 6.4 percent.

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The decrease in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from nonresidential fixed investment, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and exports that were partly offset by positive contributions from federal government spending and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

The much smaller decrease in real GDP in the second quarter than in the first primarily reflected much smaller decreases in nonresidential fixed investment, in exports, and in private inventory investment, upturns in federal government spending and in state and local government spending, and a smaller decrease in residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a much smaller decrease in imports and a downturn in PCE.

Motor vehicle output added 0.20 percentage point to the second-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 1.69 percentage points from the first-quarter change. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.04 percentage point from the second-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.06 percentage point to the first-quarter change.

Most analysts are expecting positive GDP growth for third quarter. The two main reasons for that are the auto manufacturers switching their factories back on and the government incrementally increasing spending. Unfortunately, if auto demand remains weak, the generation of inventory won’t actually translate to consumer sales, and the GDP numbers might turn south again as soon as fourth quarter. Of course, thanks to the cash for clunkers program, auto demand just had an uptick. Since autos are durable goods, purchases now can act as a drag on demand later.