Third-quarter U.S. GDP gets revised a tick lower
WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace over the summer than the government had previously estimated. Most economists foresee a slight acceleration in the current quarter and stronger growth in the first half of 2016.
In its second revision after initially estimating the country's economic output for the third quarter, the Commerce Department says the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, expanded at a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September period. That was a bit lower than its previous estimate of 2.1 percent, a result of less restocking by businesses than previously estimated.
Last quarter's expansion was significantly below the 3.9 percent annual GDP growth in the second quarter. The quarterly slowdown also reflected a cutback in the pace of inventory restocking. Economists think growth in the final quarter will amount to around a 2.2 percent rate, helped by solid consumer spending.