Gross domestic product rose at a 4 percent annualized rate, the most since the third quarter of 2013, after shrinking 2.1 percent from January through March, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 3 percent advance. Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, rose 2.5 percent, reflecting the biggest gain in purchases of durable goods such as autos in almost five years.

Manufacturers such as Whirlpool Corp. project sales will keep improving in the second half of 2014 as increasing employment lifts consumer confidence and spending. The pickup in growth, as the expansion enters its sixth year, is among reasons Federal Reserve officials meeting today may continue to pare monthly asset purchases while keeping interest rates low.

"The economy is looking pretty darned good," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, the only economist in the Bloomberg survey to accurately forecast the 4 percent gain in GDP. "The momentum for the second half is solid. The labor market is driving this growth, which means companies are looking for workers. The big picture looks a lot brighter and is probably more accurate" than the first-quarter GDP reading suggests.