Reuters (09/27/12)

The U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 1.3% annual rate in the second quarter, the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department said in its final estimate today. That was down from last month’s estimate of 1.7% and the initial estimate of 1.5%. Economic growth was much weaker than previously estimated in the second quarter as a drought cut into inventories, setting the platform for an even more sluggish performance in the current quarter against the backdrop of slowing factory activity.

Output was also revised down to reflect weaker rates of consumer and business spending than previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters had expected second-quarter GDP growth would be unrevised at 1.7%. The economy grew at a 2.0% pace in the January-March period.