FILE PHOTO: The Washington Monument is seen beyond construction vehicles on the National Mall in Washington September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is expanding at a 3.6 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow forecast model showed on Friday, following the release of August data on domestic consumption and income.

This was slower than the 3.8 percent pace calculated by the regional Fed’s forecast program on Thursday.

The Atlanta Fed said its program pared its growth estimate on personal consumption expenditure in the current quarter to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent.

The government said consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.3 percent in August after a 0.4 percent increase in July.