The estimate of the nation’s output of goods and services was lowered for the third quarter of this year, the Commerce Department announced today.
The gross domestic product (GDP), a key benchmark of economic growth, advanced just 2 percent in the quarter, compared with an earlier estimate of 2.5 percent.
In reaction to the lower estimate, stocks were slightly lower in early trading today.
The increase in GDP primarily reflected increases in personal consumption expenditures, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and federal government spending.
The government also announced that corporate profits increased nearly $40 billion during the quarter, a drop from a more than $61 billion jump in the previous quarter.
