US economic growth slowed between April and June, with GDP growing by an annualised rate of 2.4%, the US Commerce Department has said. This compares with an annual rate of 3.7% in the previous quarter, BBC News informs.

The second quarter figure is a first estimate, and could be revised either up or down in the coming months. There are growing fears about the strength of the US economic recovery, particularly concerning the country's high unemployment rate of 9.5%.

Despite the slower rate of growth, economic adviser to the White House Christine Romer said: "This solid rate of growth indicates that the process of steady recovery from the recession continues.

"Nevertheless, faster growth is needed to bring about substantial reductions in unemployment."

A large increase in imports and a fall in sales of goods such as cars partly explain the slowdown in GDP growth, while personal consumption grew at a slower rate than in the first quarter.

These factors more than offset an increase in spending on property construction, as Americans looked to take advantage of tax credits for home buyers that expired during the quarter.

The Commerce Department also revised its previous estimate for growth in the first three months of the year up sharply, from 2.7% to 3.7%.

"The economy entered the second quarter with plenty of momentum, but exited with very little," said Nigel Gault, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight. The US economy has now grown for four straight quarters.

The second quarter GDP growth figure was slightly lower than analysts' expectations. As a result, the main Dow Jones index fell 73 points, or 0.7%, to 10,394 in early trading following the release of the figures.

"This number will cast a pall on today's trading," said Jack Ablin at Harris Private Bank.