UK and US third quarter growth revised

UK third quarter GDP growth has been revised downwards. Reuters reports:

Economic growth figures so far this year have been revised slightly lower and 2011 may see a sharper slowdown due to government spending cuts, with the Bank of England also increasingly worried about inflation.

The Office for National Statistics revised down third quarter growth to 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent and said growth in the first two quarters of the year was also slightly weaker than previously reported.

In contrast, US third quarter GDP growth has been revised upwards but Wednesday's economic data on the whole were disappointing. Bloomberg reports:

The U.S. economy grew less than forecast in the third quarter and inflation unexpectedly cooled, highlighting why the Federal Reserve plans to keep pumping money into financial markets.

The revised 2.6 percent increase in gross domestic product compares with a 2.5 percent estimate issued last month and was less than the median forecast of a 2.8 percent in a Bloomberg News survey, a Commerce Department report showed today. Consumer costs for goods and services, excluding food and fuel, climbed at the slowest pace since records began in 1959...

A report today from the National Association of Realtors showed sales of existing homes rose less than forecast in November as the industry that triggered the worst recession in seven decades struggled to recover after a government tax credit ended.

Purchases increased 5.6 percent from the prior month to a 4.68 million annual rate. Economists projected sales would rise to a 4.75 million pace, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.