The US economy expanded at a healthy 2.8% annual pace from July through September on strong consumer spending and a surge in exports, the government said Wednesday, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of third-quarter growth. The Commerce Department reported that growth in U.S. gross domestic product—the economy’s output of goods and services—slowed from the April-July rate of 3%.  But the GDP report still showed that the American economy—the world’s largest—is proving surprisingly durable. Growth has topped 2% for eight of the last nine quarters. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, accelerated to a 3.5% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.8% in the April-June period, signaling the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2023. Exports also contributed to the third quarter’s growth, increasing at a 7.5% rate. Still, the third-quarter growth in both consumer spending and exports was lower than the Commerce Department initially estimated. Read the full story.