WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Robust home building and stronger exports helped the economy expand at a faster-than-expected 3.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday as it revised its growth estimate up for a second straight time.
Initially, the department said gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of total economic activity within the nation's borders -- grew at a 3.1 percent rate in the first quarter, but it pushed that number up to 3.5 percent a month ago before finally revising it to match the 3.8 percent rate posted in the closing quarter of 2004.
The final figure outpaced Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 3.7 percent rate of first-quarter growth and implied the economy had more strength going into the spring than previously thought.
Most forecasters say GDP will continue expanding at rates around 3.5 percent in coming quarters, despite some strain from higher energy prices. |