Stoked by rising inventories, the American economy grew at a significantly faster pace in the third quarter than first estimated, but probably at the expense of economic activity during the current quarter as businesses work off some of the excess stock on their shelves and in warehouses.

As investors digested the better-than-expected data on Thursday from the Commerce Department for July, August and September, many economists immediately cut their estimates for fourth-quarter growth. Barclays, for example, now expects the nation’s gross domestic product to advance at only a 1.5 percent annual rate, down from 2 percent and far below the government’s latest estimate of a 3.6 percent pace for the third quarter. A final revision is scheduled Dec. 20.

Still, the latest data comes at a time when other signs are pointing to improved economic performance next year, both in the United States and abroad, including more robust manufacturing activity and hiring.

In London on Thursday, British officials raised their projections for growth in 2013 and 2014, a sharp reversal from a year ago, when Britain was flirting with a double-dip recession.