Fears of a second recession ease

? No, the economy isn’t roaring ahead. And no, companies aren’t making lots of job offers. But a fresh batch of economic data Thursday at least eased summertime fears that the economy might be on the brink of another recession.

Far fewer people applied for unemployment aid last week, suggesting layoffs are easing. And the nation’s trade deficit narrowed in July, thanks to a bigger appetite overseas for American exports.

Analysts say they think the economy will continue to plod along in the coming months. The economy will grow, though too weakly to create many jobs for the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans.

“At the moment, we can rule out a double-dip for the economy,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, said Thursday. “Things look better than they have in several weeks, and there is no danger of a new downturn in activity.”