Casting off an end-of-year lethargy, the United States economy bounded ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 4,8% pace, the fastest pace of growth in two-and-a-half years.
The latest report on the economy, released by the US Commerce Department on Friday, shows that consumers, businesses and government all did their part in terms of robust spending and investment to spur a healthy pace of growth in the January-to-March quarter.
The 4,8% increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) marks a vast improvement from the feeble 1,7% annual rate registered in the final quarter of 2005, when fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted people and companies to tighten their belts.
The GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the US and is considered the best barometer of the economy’s fitness.
The first quarter’s performance — the best showing since the third quarter of 2003 — was close to economists’ expectations.
Before the report was released, private analysts were forecasting the economy to clock in at a 4,9% growth rate. — Sapa-AP