Investing.com - U.S. economic growth slowed in the third quarter, but posted a better-than-expected reading that left the American economy on track to post its best annual expansion in 13 years.
In a report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that GDP registered a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.5% growth in the three month period from July to September, cooling from growth of 4.2%, which was the strongest reading in four years.
The reading beat consensus expectations for an expansion of 3.3% and left the U.S. economy on track to register 3% growth for the year as a whole, which would be the strongest outcome since 2005.
In an immediate reaction at 8:35 AM ET (12:35 GMT), U.S. stock futures pared their losses, the U.S. dollar index turned positive, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked slightly lower and gold futures decreased their gains.
Although analysts expect the strong expansion to continue in the fourth quarter on the back of recovery efforts following the recent Hurricanes Florence and Michael, most economists expect growth to moderate in 2019 and warn of the possible fallout from simmering trade disputes.
“Escalating trade protectionism could also become more disruptive for the economy as weaker global growth and supply chain tensions lead to softer business sentiment and higher prices through tariff hikes,” ING economists remarked in a note.