3rd-Quarter Growth Rate Revised to 3% : Economy: But, the fourth quarter has slowed dramatically, analysts say.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3% from July through September, the government said today, but analysts say it has slowed dramatically during the fourth quarter.

In its final report on third-quarter economic activity, the Commerce Department said the gross national product was revised upward 0.3 percentage point from the 2.7% rate reported last month.

Many economists had predicted no change from November in the figure released today.

The change was attributed to another upward revision in net exports and a downward revision in personal consumption.

The GNP is the nation’s total output of goods and services and its broadest measure of economic health.

The report bore good news for the Federal Reserve’s goal of restraining inflation. A price index tied to the GNP rose at an annual rate of 2.9% during the July-September period, unchanged from last month’s report.

It is the Fed’s high-interest policy that is blamed, in part, for the fourth-quarter sluggishness, particularly in the auto and other manufacturing industries.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank’s policy-making arm, met secretly Monday and Tuesday to consider monetary policy but, as usual, did not announce whether it will permit rates to continue to fall and thus stimulate economic growth.

Other disruptions in fourth-quarter growth are expected from the Boeing aircraft strike and the lingering effects of Hurricane Hugo and the San Francisco Bay Area earthquake.

In a companion report, the Commerce Department said after-tax profits of U.S. corporations fell 5.4% in the third quarter. That was a revision from the 7.2% decline reported last month.

Corporate profits have dropped for three consecutive quarters. They were down 0.3% in the first quarter and 1.1% in the second.

Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, was revised to show a 5.6% growth rate compared to the 6.2% gain reported last month.

The various changes left the GNP expanding in the third quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $4.16 trillion.

Today’s report was the third on the July-September GNP. In its initial estimate in October, the Commerce Department said the third-quarter economy would grow at a 2.5% annual rate.

Last month’s initial revision was due mainly to better-than-expected trade performance. The September trade deficit, which hit a five-year low, was not available when the advance estimate was made in October.

While the economy surprised many analysts with its 3% growth during the first nine months of the year, it has declined significantly this quarter and some economists fear it will drop below 1% and perhaps even trip into a recession.

The Bush Administration is forecasting a 2.7% growth rate for all of 1989. The fourth-quarter GNP would have to advance 1.6% to meet that goal.