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

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 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.