US economic growth at 1.7 percent

The US economy grew at an annualised pace of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, the Commerce Department has said.

That was a faster pace than expected by economists.

It was also up from the growth rate for the first three months of 2013, which was revised lower to 1.1 percent from 1.8 percent.

A slowdown was widely expected due to the impact of federal spending cuts, but also from the continuing weakness in the global economy.

In March, $85bn of public spending was cut as a result of a deal between Democrat and Republican politicians.