More News on our 'Bad' Economy

Economy Posts Best Growth in 2 1/2 Years

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - Popping out of a year-end rut, the economy zipped ahead at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years during the first quarter of 2006 as consumers picked up spending and businesses regained their footing.

Inflation looked tame, too, though the latest figures didn't include last week's oil-price spike.

"The U.S. economy is cruising along now," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, after Friday's latest report by the Commerce Department.

Gross domestic product advanced at a 4.8 percent pace in the January-to-March quarter. That marked a rebound from the feeble 1.7 percent rate 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.

GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the economy's fitness.

"This rapid growth is another sign that our economy is on the fast track," said President Bush.