The US returned to solid economic growth in the third quarter, but economists refused to sound the all-clear amid signs that the recovery is precarious.
The annualised 2.5 per cent increase in gross domestic product, led by encouraging growth in investment and consumption, met market expectations and answered fears that the world’s largest economy was falling into recession. It was the fastest rate of growth since the third quarter of last year.
But businesses slashed their inventories – a sign of nervousness about the outlook – and consumers managed to increase spending only through an unsustainable cut in their savings rate from 5.1 per cent to 4.1 per cent.