Economy Grows More Than Expected in Q2

Washington, DC, July 31, 2013 -- The economy grew 1.7% between April and June, according to the Commerce Department's initial estimate.

Many experts and government forecasters were expecting a weaker number.

Personal consumption, business spending and the renewed housing market accounted for most of the growth in the quarter, along with a smaller decrease in federal spending.

The Commerce Department also revised its growth estimate for 2009 to 2012 higher by 0.3 percentage points to 2.4% .