In the spring, the economy shifted to a higher gear, growing at its fastest pace in nearly a year as foreign buyers purchased U.S. exports and tax rebates spurred shoppers at home.

According to Fox Business News, “the Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at a 3.3% annual rate in the April-June quarter. The revised reading was much better than the government’s initial estimate of a 1.9% pace and exceeded economists’ expectations for a 2.7% growth rate.”

The rebound occurs after two dismal quarters. The economy actually shrank in the final three months of 2007 and struggled into the first quarter at a feeble 0.9% pace. The 3.3% growth in the second quarter was the best performance since the third quarter of last year, when the economy moved briskly along at a 4.8% pace.

Nevertheless, the growth pickup is not likely to be seen as a lasting sign that the fragile economy is returning to solid ground.

Ben Benarnke, the Federal Reserve chairman, recently warned that the economy will be weak for the rest of the year. An increasing number of analysts fear that the nation will strike another economic pothole in the fourth quarter with the helpful impact of the tax rebates disappearing. There are worries that exports could tail off as other countries’ economies slow down

According to Fox, “GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the U.S. and is the best barometer of the country’s economic health.”

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