Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annualized 8.2 percent pace in the third quarter, a second and final revision of Commerce Department figures showed. It was the briskest pace since 1984.

Consumer spending surged at a 17-year record pace of 6.9 percent in the quarter, even faster than first thought, with spending on durable goods such as automobiles up 28 percent, based on the most recent report.

And consumers, whose expenditure accounts for two-thirds of activity in the world's largest economy, still appeared to be splashing out in the last stretch of 2003.

Spending by consumers rose 0.4 percent in November and their incomes were boosted 0.5 percent, helped by jobs growth and sharp productivity gains, the Commerce Department said in a separate report.

Industry data confirmed the shopping spree.

A barometer of sales at retail chain stores drawn up by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and UBS Warburg climbed 0.6 percent in the week ended December 20 when compared with the previous week.

In another positive sign for retailers, a survey by the University of Michigan showed consumers kept their spirits up in the run-up to Christmas, a critical sales period.