Real gross domestic product in the U.S. rose at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 3.5%, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced today.

The lower third-quarter estimate still marks an improvement over decreases in previous quarters. GDP shrunk by 0.7% in the second quarter and 6.4% in the first.

Today's decrease in the GDP estimate was the result of a revision in import activity.

Separately, The Conference Board's consumer confidence index released today edged up to a reading of 49.5 in November (1985=100) from 48.7 in October.

"The moderate improvement in the short-term outlook was the result of a decrease in the percent of consumers expecting business and labor market conditions to worsen, as opposed to an increase in the percent of consumers expecting conditions to improve," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's consumer research center. "Income expectations remain very pessimistic and consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood."

The index is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households.