The GDP growth is a just enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising - bad news for the 14m people out of work and an ominous sign for President Barack Obama, who will be facing voters next year.
Households and businesses drove the growth in a quarter marked by the debacle in Washington over the debt ceiling and a heightening of fear in the US over the threat posed to the global economy by Europe's debt crisis.
However, an easing in gasoline prices saw household spending climb at a 2.4pc pace in the quarter, more than double forecasts. American businesses, which are sitting on more than $1trillion in cash, also dug into their corporate pockets to spend on a range of equipment including computer technology and software. Business spending jumped at at 16.3pc rate in the quarter.
The third-quarter figure, which matched the expectations of economists on Wall Street, barely registered with stock markets still digesting the deal that emerged from Europe overnight. While the number allays fears that the world's biggest economy is in imminent danger of a second recession, few were euphoric.
"The components are better than expected," said David Semmens, a US economist at Standard Chartered. "We would look for more momentum from business investment and consumer spending before getting carried away."
There was some encouragement, though, to be taken from the small contribution an expansion of inventories by companies played in the quarter's growth. Inventories climbed $5.4bn, down from $39.1bn in the second quarter, a shrinking that will have proved a headwind during the quarter.
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