US economy grew at 3.2 per cent in third quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy in the third quarter grew at the fastest pace in two years, with a revised report showing stronger consumer spending than first estimated.
The gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, expanded at an annual rate of 3.2 per cent in the July-September period, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That is up from a previous estimate of 2.9 per cent.
The revision was significantly better than the meagre gains of 0.8 per cent in the first quarter and 1.4 per cent in the second quarter when the economy was being held back by a strong dollar and weak business investment.
The 3.2 per cent increase was expected to be the best showing for the year. Economists believe growth has slowed to around 2 per cent in the current quarter. At the moment, they forecast growth of around 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent for 2017.