Rise higher than the 1.8% analysts expected, but figures show signs that businesses are concerned by ‘fiscal cliff’ uncertainty US economic growth rose in the third quarter to reach an annualized rate of 2%, higher than expected and fueled by rising consumer confidence, the fledgling recovery in the housing market and an increase in government spending. The latest figures from the commerce department are the last before November’s election and come as US economic recovery – or the lack of it – has dominated the 2012 election cycle. The third-quarter GDP figures contain good and bad news for Barack Obama as he fights to defend his economic record against challenger Mitt Romney. Romney called the rise “discouraging”.

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