Economy grew at robust 3.5% in third quarter

The economy grew at a robust 3.5 percent in the three months that just ended, the Commerce Department reported Friday—a slowdown from the breakneck pace earlier in the year but one that indicates a solid rate of economic expansion. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 4.2 percent.

The two quarters marked the strongest consecutive quarters of growth since 2014.

This year’s third-quarter figure was fueled by strong consumer spending, but newly enacted trade tariffs between the U.S. and China acted as a drag on the figures. “A downturn in exports” as well as a drop in business investment are responsible for part of the decline from the second quarter, the Commerce Department noted.

The overall figure was slightly higher than many economists had been projecting, and puts the U.S. on track to hit an average of 3 percent GDP growth for the year—a psychologically important figure that President Donald Trump has promised as a result of his economic policies.

But some economists worry that the recent stock market declines could be a warning signal of a coming slowdown.

“Growth figures are likely to slow from here heading into 2019, but there are still plenty of signs of further expansion for the U.S. ahead,” Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers said via email.

–The Associated Press contributed reporting.