Economy’sQ2 rebound was faster thanexpected

washington » The U.S. economy’s bounce-back last quarter from a dismal winter was even faster than previously thought, a sign that growth likely will remain solid for the rest of the year.

The economy asmeasured by gross domestic product grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. Itwas the fastest pace in more than two years and higher than the government’s previous estimate of 4.2 percent.

The upward revision reflected strongerthan-expected business investment and exports last quarter.

The healthy second-quarter growth marked a sharp rebound fromthe JanuaryMarch quarter, when the economy shrank at a 2.1 percent rate in the midst of a brutal winter that idled factories and kept consumers at home.

As the third quarter nears an end, economists envision a strengthening economy through the end of 2014 and into 2015.

Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, is slightlymore optimistic than most. He said a brighter outlook for business investment spending and other good economic reports led him to revise his GDP forecast to 3.2 percent growth for the July-September period.

“The American economy is firing on virtually all cylinders and cruising at a decidedly stronger rate than in recent years,” Guatieri said.

Friday’s report on GDP — the economy’s total output of goods and services— was the government’s third and final estimate for the second quarter.