The economy in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter as companies took advantage of gains in consumer and business spending to reduce bloated stockpiles.
Gross domestic product grew at a 1.5 percent annual rate, in line with the 1.6 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, Commerce Department data showed Thursday in Washington.
The economy grew at an average 2.3 percent pace in the first half of the year as a 3.9 percent surge in the second quarter more than made up for a first-quarter slowdown caused by frigid weather, a labor dispute at West Coast ports and cutbacks in the energy industry.
Today's Commerce Department third-quarter growth estimate showed household purchases, which account for almost 70 percent of the economy, rose at a 3.2 percent annual pace compared with a 3.6 percent pace in the prior three-month period.