US economy grew at strong 3.5 percent

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the fastest pace in two years and more than the government had previously estimated. But the growth spurt isn’t expected to last.

The gain in the gross domestic product – the economy’s total output of goods and services – came from added strength in consumer spending, business investment and the government sector, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The government had previously estimated last quarter’s annual growth rate at 3.2 percent.

The economy’s acceleration last quarter marked a sharp pickup from the tepid annual growth of 0.8 percent in the first quarter and 1.4 percent in the second.

Still, growth is expected to slow to a roughly 1.5 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, reflecting in part less consumer spending and less business stockpiling.

Growth for the entire year, economists say, is likely to be around 1.5 percent.

That would be down from 2015 and would be the weakest performance since the economy shrank 2.8 percent in 2009.