S economy expanded at a furious pace in the third quarter, but it appears to have lost momentum as the year draws to a close amid a surgeon coronavirus cases and dwindling fiscal stimulus, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The U.

S economy grew at a record 33.4% annualized pace in the third quarter, revising its final estimate slightly upward.

Consumer spending led the broad recovery, but that appears to have cooled.

Retail sales have fallen over the last two months as government unemployment subsidies expired, putting household incomes under pressure, And on Tuesday, the Conference Board reported consumer confidence declined in December, surprising economists who had expected it to rise.

Congress has approved a nearly $900 billion rescue package, but economists said it was too little, too late.

They forecast growth will slow to around 5% in the fourth quarter due to stress in the labor market and depleted household incomes, and some fear it could even shrink in the first three months of next year.

Throughout the recovery, housing has been the economy star performer, but the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday existing home sales fell 2.5% in November.

The decline was steeper than expected and it snapped a five month streak of gains.

The drop comes amid a shortage of properties and record high home prices.