美国经济增长高于预期

The U.S. economy grew faster than earlier thought during the last few months of 2010.

Friday's report from the Commerce Department says the gross domestic product expanded at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the last quarter of last year. That is three-tenths of a percentage point faster than an earlier estimate. Experts routinely revise their estimates as new data becomes available.

The GDP is the broadest measure of the economy, and takes account of all goods and services produced in a nation.

For all of 2010, the U.S. GDP expanded 2.9 percent, the most in 5 years.

Some economists say growth may slow this quarter as rising oil prices take up money that otherwise might have boosted demand for other goods and services.

They are also trying to calculate how much Japan's tsunami and nuclear problems will hurt U.S. growth. Some Japanese factories that normally produce parts for cars, electronics and aircraft are shut down, causing production problems for factories in many nations, including the United States.

it is not clear how long the disruption will last, or how many companies that usually use Japanese-made parts can get substitutes elsewhere.

美国商务部星期五的报告显示，美国国民生产总值在去年最后一个季度中的增长率达到3.1%。这比预期快了0.3%。经济学家们经常在新数据公布后会修正他们对经济发展的预测。

国内生产总值是经济发展最全面的衡量数据，包括一个国家内的所有商品生产及服务。

2010年全年，美国国内生产总值增长2.9%，是5年来最大的增幅。

一些经济学家说，本季度增长率可能会降低，因为油价升高导致原本可以用来刺激对其他货物和服务需求的资金有所减少。

经济学家们还试图估算日本海啸和核危机会给美国经济增长带来的影响。一些制造汽车、电子产品和飞机部件的日本厂家关闭，导致美国和其他许多国家的工厂出现生产危机。

目前还不清楚日本厂家还要关闭多久，也不清楚有多少使用日本零件的公司能够在别处找到替代品。