US economic growth leapt ahead at an upwardly revised 5.6 per cent annual rate in the first quarter amid lower imports than first thought and strong corporate profits.
The US Commerce Department pushed its estimate of first-quarter growth in gross domestic product up from 5.3 per cent that it reported a month ago.
That slightly exceeded Wall Street economists' predictions for a 5.5 per cent rate and meant the economy expanded at more than triple the 1.7 per cent pace recorded in last year's fourth quarter.
It was the strongest quarterly growth in two-and-a-half years, since a 7.2 per cent rate in the third quarter of 2003.
The pace of economic growth is expected to moderate in coming quarters, partly because of some softening in the housing sector that analysts say will potentially have an impact on consumer spending, the key driver of US economic performance.
Consumer spending in the first quarter advanced at a revised but still sizzling 5.1 per cent rate rather than 5.2 per cent estimated a month ago, far ahead of the 0.9 per cent rate recorded in the fourth quarter.
The department said its main reason for revising first-quarter GDP upward was that imports were not as strong as it previously had calculated.
Imports, which act as a drag on overall GDP, rose at a 10.7 per cent annual rate in the first quarter rather than 12.8 per cent.
Corporate profits also grew more strongly than the government previously thought, rising at a 13.8 per cent annual rate after taxes instead of 8.8 per cent it estimated a month ago.