WASHINGTON, July 31: A boom in exports and tax rebates to tens of millions of Americans helped bolster US economic growth to an annualised 1.9 per cent during the second quarter, a government report showed on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said that gross domestic product (GDP) growth accelerated from a revised 0.9 per cent pace during the first quarter.

Although US economic performance improved, it still fell short of the 2.3 per cent hoped for by most economists.

The latest growth snapshot was released ahead of a looming interest rate meeting of the Federal Reserve set for Tuesday. Economists expect the central bank to keep its short-term federal funds rate firmly pegged at 2.0 per cent.

The government survey showed a surge in exports had helped fire up growth.

An emergency 168-billion-dollar economic stimulus, stuffed with one-off tax rebates, also stoked growth higher.

The review of America’s 14-trillion-dollar economy showed that second-quarter growth was the strongest since the third quarter of last year, but economists expressed concern about persisting economic headwinds.

Exports, underpinned by a weak dollar, boomed 9.2 per cent during the April-June period, after rising 5.1 per cent in the first quarter.

Imports meanwhile declined 6.6 per cent, marking a sharper decrease than the 0.8 per cent seen in the first quarter.

While the ailing dollar has lifted exports, Americans have shunned foreign purchases which the weak dollar has made more costly.

Exports added 2.42 percentage points to second-quarter growth, but some economists wondered if the export spike could be maintained.

“I’m not so sure those gains are sustainable, exports are likely to slow with the slowdown in Europe and Japan,” said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Consumer spending by contrast added a mere 1.08 percentage points to quarterly growth.

American consumers are buckling under the weight of a lengthy housing market slowdown and rocketing fuel costs, as a credit crunch grips the banking industry.

Consumer spending rose 1.5 per cent during the second quarter against a 0.9 per cent gain in the prior quarter despite Americans cutting back on purchases of big-ticket durable goods.

Durable goods, demand for which fell 3.0 per cent, include vehicles and cars and household items such as kitchen appliances and computers.

“Consumers used the stimulus check more for basic necessities as opposed to more discretionary items,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia.

Economists watch consumer spending closely because it accounts for some two-thirds of GDP growth.

The government meanwhile revised lower its first-quarter growth estimate to 0.9 per cent from 1.0 per cent, and significantly trimmed its reading for the fourth quarter of 2007 to show a 0.2 per cent contraction from a prior estimate of a 0.6 per cent gain.

The decline in fourth-quarter GDP marked the first time US economic growth slipped into negative territory since the recession of 2001 when the economy was hobbled by the September 11 terrorist attacks.—AFP