The economy in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter as companies took advantage of gains in consumer and business spending to reduce bloated stockpiles.<br />Gross domestic product grew at a 1.5 percent annual rate, in line with the 1.6 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, Commerce Department data showed Thursday in Washington.<br />The economy grew at an average 2.3 percent pace in the first half of the year as a 3.9 percent surge in the second quarter more than made up for a first-quarter slowdown caused by frigid weather, a labor dispute at West Coast ports and cutbacks in the energy industry.<br />Today's Commerce Department third-quarter growth estimate showed household purchases, which account for almost 70 percent of the economy, rose at a 3.2 percent annual pace compared with a 3.6 percent pace in the prior three-month period.
