US commerce department confirms strongest quarterly figures in two years but trims growth rate America’s exit from its deepest postwar recession during the autumn was less robust than originally believed according to figures released from Washington today The figures show that the growth rate was trimmed by rising imports and weak commercial property. The commerce department confirmed that the US broke a run of four quarters of declining output in the third quarter to show its strongest growth in two years, but gross domestic product had expanded at an annual rate of 2.8% rather than the 3.5% in its first estimate a year ago. Today’s data release comes on the eve of the second estimate of UK growth in the third quarter on Wednesday, with City analysts expecting a slightly stronger performance than the 0.4% decline announced in October