The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the third quarter as a surge in exports and a rebound in inventory investment countered a slowdown in consumer spending.
Figures released Friday by the Commerce Department showed gross domestic product increased at a 2.9% annual rate after expanding at a 1.4% pace in the second quarter. That was the strongest growth rate since the third quarter of 2014.
Economists had forecast GDP rising at a 2.5% annual rate in the third quarter.
Despite the moderation in consumer spending, the third-quarter rise in growth could help dispel any lingering fears the economy was at risk of stalling. Over the first half of the year, growth had averaged just 1.1%
Consumer spending still supported the economy in the third quarter, even as the pace slowed from the second quarter's robust 4.3% rate. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 2.1% rate.
A surge in soybean exports helped to shrink the trade deficit in the third quarter. Exports increased at a 10%rate, the biggest rise since the fourth quarter of 2013.
