GDP Revised Downward for Q3

The gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at an annual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter, less than the 2.5 originally estimated, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today.

The increase in the third quarter, which followed a 1.3 percent increase in the second quarter, reflected an increase in spending by consumers and the federal government, and higher exports. Offsetting the gains, were declines in state and local government spending, an increase in imports and a decline in inventory investment.