US economy grew 3.7 percent in last quarter

The U.S. economy grew more quickly than originally thought in the second quarter of the year, providing some good news amid a shaky stretch for U.S. financial markets.

After initially believing the economy grew just 2.3 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday that it now estimates the economy grew 3.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015. Thursday’s estimate was the second of three the government will provide for that time period ending in June.

{mosads}The government said the uptick in economic activity was thanks to increased business investment, stronger exports and reduced imports. An increase in state and local government spending also added to the stronger number.

The new report suggests that the economic path for the U.S. in 2015 is following a similar track to 2014, which also saw a dismal first quarter followed up by much stronger numbers for the remainder of the year. The first quarter of 2015 saw economic growth of just 0.6 percent.

The rosy economic numbers come at a volatile time for financial markets, as U.S. traders and investors across the globe have pushed markets to wild swings over the past few days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up over 600 points on Wednesday, after days of massive losses on the blue-chip stock index.

Concern about economic strength in China has driven much of the wild market activity, and while the new U.S. data is about a period in the past, it could boost hopes that the U.S. economy is on firmer footing despite the turmoil abroad.