US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at anannual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter of this year, the US CommerceDepartment reported.
The growth rate was an acceleration from 1.3 percent in thesecond quarter, and was slightly stronger than market expectations, reportedXinhua.
The increase of the nation's real GDP in the third quarterprimarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumptionexpenditures (PCE), federal government spending, and residential fixedinvestment, said the department Friday.
Real personal consumption expenditures rose 2 percent in thethird quarter, compared with an increase of 1.5 percent in the second quarter.
Personal consumption accounted for about 70 percent of thetotal economic activity in the world's largest economy.
Real residential fixed investment gained 14.4 percent in thethird quarter, compared with an increase of 8.5 percent in the second quarter.
Real federal government consumption expenditures and grossinvestment increased 9.6 percent in the third quarter, in contrast to adecrease of 0.2 percent in the second quarter, noted the report.
In the July-September period, real exports of goods andservices decreased 1.6 percent, in contrast to an increase of 5.3 percent inthe second quarter.
The key economic numbers came less than two weeks before theNov 6 presidential election day in the US.