The hurricanes could knock a percentage point off US growth

This was down from a 3.8% rate of growth in the first quarter, but was still regarded as a solid performance by US economists.

Upward revisions to consumer spending were offset by weaker exports of services than previously forecast.

The US economy has exceeded 3% growth for nine straight quarters running.

Consumer spending - which accounts for about two-thirds of US growth - rose at a revised 3.4% in the second quarter, up from estimates of 3% and just down from the first quarter's 3.5% figure.

Storm impact

Early estimates of third-quarter growth - which will reflect the devastating impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita - will not be available for another month.

I don't see any significant risk of a recession Ben Bernanke, economic adviser

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan told colleagues last week that the fallout from Katrina did not poses a "persistent threat" to the economy.

However, the disaster raised concerns about a pickup in inflation, which was partly behind the central bank's decision to raise rates last week for the eleventh time since June 2004.

Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the storms could shave up to one percentage point off third-quarter growth.

However, growth is also expected to bounce back when rebuilding starts. Echoing Mr Greenspan's prognosis, he said long-term economic impact would be benign.