U.S. economy grew 2.8% last quarter, powered by consumer spending [Video]

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% annual pace last quarter as consumers continued to open their wallets despite elevated interest rates. 

Forecasters expected the country’s gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services produced in the U.S. — to come in at 2.6% in the three-month period ended in September, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet. The latest GDP figure is down slightly from the second quarter’s growth of 3%.

The American economy, the world’s biggest, has shown surprising resilience in the face of sharply higher borrowing rates as the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy in a bid to tame inflation. Despite widespread predictions that the economy would succumb to a recession, however, it has kept growing, with hiring and consumer spending holding steady.

Wednesday’s GDP report marks one of the last major economic …