US economic growth last quarter is revised up to a 2% annual rate

By PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2% annual pace from January through March as consumers spent at the fastest pace in nearly two years, the government said Thursday in a sharp upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 1.3% annual rate last quarter. The Commerce Department’s third and final report on January-March economic growth pointed to surprising resilience but still marked a deceleration from the 2.6% annual rate from October through December and the 3.2% growth from July through September. The economy has been slowed by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation through a series of interest rate hikes beginning early last year.