The US economy grew at its fastest rate in two years in the last quarter, due to a surge in exports and improving consumer confidence. The figures, the strongest since the third quarter of 2014, are the last official health check on the US economy before the election on 8 November. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has highlighted the weakness of the economy and attacked his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s “failed economic agenda”. Barack Obama’s lead economic adviser said the increased GDP figures were due to “strong export growth and continued strength in consumer spending”. The economy is in decent shape – so decent that the Fed will have to raise interest rates later this year.

Source: The Guardian October 28, 2016 16:18 UTC