U.S. economic growth crashed in the third quarter, as the economy grappled with the Delta variant driving a resurgence of Covid-19 infections and supply-chain disruptions.

Gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S.—grew at an annualized rate of two percent from July through September, after adjusting for inflation and seasonality, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

That was below the consensus expectation for 2.9 percent growth.

The economy grew at a better than expected 6.7 percent in the second quarter, boosted by widespread business reopenings, vaccinated Americans spending on out-of-home services and travel, and a massive infusion of government stimulus.

The third-quarter GDP growth was initially forecast to be even more robust. As late as June, analysts were forecast growth of seven to better than nine percent. But the surge in virus cases, stronger than expected inflation, and supply bottlenecks dragged the economy down to a much slower pace.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index increased 5.3 percent, compared with an increase of 6.5 percent in the prior period. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 4.5 percent, compared with an increase of 6.1 percent in the second quarter. This measure, so-called core PCE inflation, is closely watched by the Federal Reserve.