US Economic Growth Accelerates – 2.9% Growth in Third Quarter

The World Street Journal reports that U.S. economic growth accelerated last quarter, easing fears of a near-term slowdown but doing little to change the trajectory of a long but weak expansion.

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at an inflation- and seasonally adjusted 2.9% annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was stronger growth than the second quarter’s pace of 1.4%. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected growth at a 2.5% pace for the July-to-September period.

Last quarter’s growth rate was the fastest recorded in two years.

The third-quarter acceleration largely reflected increased exports and a buildup of inventories, while consumer spending increased at a slower rate.