The 3 percent annual growth for the July-September quarter in gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the United States — followed a 3.1 percent annual pace in the previous quarter. Many analysts believe annual growth in the current October-December quarter will amount to a rate of around 2.7 percent. Private economists have estimated that the storms sapped between one-half and 1 percentage point from annual growth in the July-September period. The 3 percent annual growth rate for third quarter GDP and the 3.1 percent pace in the second quarter followed a much weaker 1.2 percent annual increase in the January-March quarter. In the third quarter, consumer spending remained solid, though it slowed slightly to a 2.4 percent annual pace from a sizzling 3.3 percent rate in the April-June period.

Source: ABC News October 27, 2017 12:32 UTC