US economic recovery gains steam as spending fuels 6.4% GDP growth in Q1

Personal consumption, the biggest part of the economy, surged an annualised 10.7%, the second-fastest since the 1960s

US economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, fueled by massive government aid to households and businesses, charting the course for what is expected will be the strongest performance this year in nearly four decades.

Gross domestic product increased at a 6.4% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in its advance estimate of GDP for the first three months of the year.

That was the second-fastest GDP growth pace since the third quarter of 2003 and followed a 4.3% rate in the fourth quarter. Personal consumption, the biggest part of the economy, surged an annualised 10.7%, the second-fastest