US GDP expands at 2% rate in Q3, beats analysts' expectations

Gross domestic product expanded at a 2-percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, accelerating from the second quarter's 1.3-percent pace.

Still, the stronger pace of expansion fell short of what is needed to make much of a dent in unemployment, and details of the report did not bode well for an acceleration in output in the fourth quarter, as a spurt in government spending was seen as temporary.

A growth pace in excess of 2.5 percent is needed over several quarters to make substantial headway cutting the jobless rate. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.9 percent growth pace in the third quarter.

The report offers little cheer for the White House ahead of the closely contested Nov. 6 presidential election, in which President Barack Obama is trying to fend off Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

U.S. stock index futures pared losses after the data, while Treasuries briefly cut early price gains. The dollar trimmed losses against the yen, and cut gains against the euro.

Since climbing out of the 2007-09 recession, the economy has faced a series of headwinds from high gasoline prices to the debt turmoil in Europe and, lately, fears of U.S. government austerity.

It has struggled to exceed a 2-percent growth pace and remains about 4.5 million jobs short of where it stood when the downturn started.

Consumers, however, largely shrugged off the impending sharp cuts in government spending and higher taxes, which are due at the start of the year absent congressional action.

Indeed, they went on a bit of a shopping spree as the quarter wound down, buying a range of goods — including automobiles and Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, grew at a 2-percent rate after increasing 1.5 percent in the prior period.

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