The US economy grew at 3.3% annually in the second quarter of 2008, beating estimates of 1.9%, according to the Commerce Department.
The upturn was attributed to strong US exports, aided by the weak dollar, and $600 government tax rebate payments which gave a boost to consumer spending. Exports grew at an annualised rate of 13.2%, higher than the government's initial estimate of 9.2% and consumer spending was up 1.7% compared to 1.5% in Q1. The growth figures for Q2 compared favourably to Q1 when GDP grew at a rate of 0.9%. This followed a 0.2% contraction in the last three months of 2007. IFAonline
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