U.S. second quarter economic growth had been revised down to 1.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The growth rate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) was down from last month's 1.7 percent estimate and was lower than the 2 percent growth pace in the first quarter.

It was also the slowest growth rate since the third quarter of 2011, evidence of the tepid economic recovery.

The deceleration in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected decelerations in personal consumption expenditures, nonresidential fixed investment and residential fixed investment, the department said.

Motor vehicle output added 0.2 percentage point to the second-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.72 percentage point to the first quarter. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.1 percentage point from the second-quarter change after adding 0.02 percentage point to the first-quarter change.

Real personal consumption expenditures increased 1.5 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 2.4 percent in the first quarter, the department said.

Consumption accounts for about 70 percent of overall economic activity, the main engine of the nation's economic growth.

Real exports of goods and services rose 5.3 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 4.4 percent in the first. Real imports of goods and services increased 2.8 percent, compared with an increase of 3.1 percent.

Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment shed 0.2 percent in the second quarter, compared with a decrease of 4.2 percent in the first quarter.