The U.S. economic growth rate for the second quarter was revised lower from an already disappointing initial estimate amid a jump in the trade deficit.

Gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annual rate, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2003, the Commerce Department said today.

That was down from an initial estimate of 3.0%, and was down sharply from 4.5% in the first quarter. The government attributed the downward revision to a worsening of the international trade picture which was only partly offset by greater consumer spending, inventory building and business investment in software and equipment.

Economists had expected GDP growth of 2.7%.

The rising U.S. trade deficit in the second quarter shaved 1.37 percentage points off GDP, compared with a 0.76 percentage point reduction in the prior quarter. The second-quarter trade situation was worse than first thought and was the biggest factor in the downward revision to second-quarter GDP.

In the same report, the Commerce Department reported that corporate profits were up 17.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier. However, that was down 1.2% sequentially from first-quarter earnings.