US economic growth slowed sharply in the third quarter of the year. Gross Domestic Product grew at an annualised pace of 1.5 per cent between July and September, according to the Department of Commerce, down from a rate of 3.9 per cent in the second quarter. The slowdown was partly due to companies running down stockpiles of goods in their warehouses. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and said the economy was expanding at a moderate pace.