The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the July-to-September period, better than the initially estimated 1.6 percent pace, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The rate of expansion in gross domestic product was stronger than the 1.8 percent pace that economists had forecast, but less than half the blistering 5.6 percent rate recorded in the first quarter.

The 2.2 percent growth was slowest since a 1.8 percent growth rate in final quarter of 2005, when the economy was suffering fallout from the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness.

Source: Xinhua