U.S. growth revised higher

The world's largest economy is expanding at a faster pace than previously thought, new data out of the U.S. showed Wednesday.

America's gross domestic product the total value of all goods and services sold in the country expanded at a three per cent annual pace in the last three months of 2011. That's ahead of the 2.8 per cent pace the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its first estimate, and well ahead of the 1.8 per cent rate in the three months prior.

The three per centfigure is also the fastest annualized pace of growth since the spring of 2010.

Theagency normally publishesan advanced GDP report and then revises it two more times when new data comes in.

Business investment from the private sector, coupled by an uptick in consumer spending, managed to offset declines in spending from all levels of government. All in all, the U.S. economy was worth $15.3 trillion at the end of December.

For 2011 as a whole, the U.S. economy expanded by 1.7 per cent in 2011. That's a bit short of the three per cent gain it saw in calendar 2010.

Economists predict growth at an annual pace oftwo per cent in the January-March quarter, according to a survey by the National Association of Business Economics. Growth will reach 2.4 per cent for the full year, up from 2011's increase of 1.7 per cent, the survey found.