US economic growth accelerates to 2.9 per cent in 3rd quarter

Washington: The US economy accelerated to a 2.9 percent annual growth rate in the third quarter, boosted by consumer spending and exports, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Coming just 11 days before the presidential election in which the economy has been a major issue, the GDP data showed the strongest growth in two years, and was better than the consensus forecast of 2.5 percent.