Washington- The final figure for US growth in the second quarter of 2008 was adjusted downward Thursday to 2.8 per cent by the US government, which indicated that strong exports and fewer imports helped prevent the figure from sliding any lower.

The gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the second quarter was the final of three estimates, which had previously pegged growth at 1.9 per cent and then 3.3 per cent for the second quarter in previous calculations by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.9 percent.

The final figure for the second quarter fell on items such as private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and investments in equipment and software, reflecting the overall malaise in an economy beset by a financial crisis that has constricted the availability of credit.

Nonetheless, compared to the first quarter, 2.8 per cent economic growth offered a ray of light in the otherwise gloomy financial scene of the US capitol as it wrestles with failures in the finance industry. (dpa)